Facebook will start “hosting” podcasts starting 22 June

You will soon be able to listen to podcasts directly on a Facebook page. Facebook is planning to roll out its podcast feature on 22 June 2021, and will even add a feature that’ll allow listeners to create clips from their favourite shows.

According to The Verge, an email was sent to podcast page owners informing them that they would be able to add their podcasts right to their Page without needed to upload anything or link their shows individually. By linking their show’s RSS feed, their Page will automatically be updated with their latest episodes as they become available.

These episodes will show up on a “podcasts” tab (as seen below). At first, a limited number of page owners would have access. However, emails are being sent to additional page owners—which might suggest that the rollout might be wider than initially anticipated.

Podcasters who want to publish on the platform will need to agree to Facebook’s podcast terms of service, which doesn’t exactly make it clear about what exactly Facebook can do with the podcasts distributed on its platform. For example, it grants Facebook the rights to make derivative works—which may be necessary for distributing shows in certain formats—but it might not appeal to podcasters who are protective over their IP.

Additionally, podcasters can choose to “enable clips”—which lets listeners create and share their favourite clips of 1 minute and below, based on the podcasts. These “may help increase visibility and engagement”—which seemed to work with Twitch as a way for streamers to share their best moments.

Ultimately, Facebook’s plan is to have podcasters to foster conversations with their listeners and to promote their shows using the platform. Besides trying to make it harder for people to leave the site, it’s also possible Facebook sees potential in podcast advertising like with Spotify’s own podcast network.

In April, Facebook also announced plans for a feature called Soundbites, which will live within the News Feed. Soundbites plans to give users kind of like a platform for short mini-podcasts made by your friends and family, as well as the content creators you follow.

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