Spotify testing TikTok-inspired podcast feed

Swedish audio streaming and media services provider Spotify is testing a new podcast feature that uses a TikTok-style vertical audio newsfeed to enhance podcast discoverability in the app.

As per Tech Crunch, the newsfeed feature, currently in testing, will present users with 60-second audio clips of shows in a vertically scrolling feed. It will reportedly use a machine learning model that has been trained on 100,000 hours of audio to make it capable of automatically selecting which clips to showcase.

Spotify said that the feature is based on technology that the company acquired when it bought Podz last summer for around USD 49 million.

The startup created the audio newsfeed to solve the problem of podcast discovery by using a TikTok-style vertical scrolling format, and what made it particularly innovative was its ability to select audio clips of shows in a way that didn't rely on podcast creators to produce their own clips.

In regions where the feature is being tested, a dedicated 'Podcasts' button in the app takes users to the vertical feed, where a show's cover art is displayed as the associated audio clip plays.

The clip is also transcribed on screen as it plays, with the words highlighted as they are spoken. A play button allows users to continue listening to the show, while a plus button lets users add the episode to the app's 'Your Episodes' list.

Spotify confirmed to TechCrunch that it was testing the technology it acquired from Podz, but did not offer a roadmap for the feature's general release.

"At Spotify, we routinely conduct a number of tests in an effort to improve our user experience," a spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added, "Some of those tests end up paving the way for our broader user experience and others serve only as an important learning. We don't have any further news to share at this time."

Spotify has been focusing heavily on podcasts over the last few years. Spotify has also been working on original podcast content and has purchased several well-known podcasts since 2019.

( With inputs from ANI )

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