Spotify's latest publishing tool can quickly turn streams into podcasts

This could help radio producers reach new audiences more easily.

Turning a radio show or any other live broadcast into a podcast isn't as easy as uploading the exact same file somewhere else. Downloading an episode from a radio platform, ripping ads, dropping ad markers, making other edits and downloading it as a podcast typically takes up to an hour, Spotify said. To simplify this process, the company has released a tool that can automatically create podcast episodes from existing shows.

Spotify uses technology from Whooshkaa, a company it bought in 2021, to power the tool. Users of Megaphone, Spotify's podcasting platform for businesses, will have access. Several publishers already use Megaphone to convert radio shows into podcasts, including Fox News Audio. The technology can identify existing ad marker placements, and publishers can replace or reposition them before the podcast episode goes live.

According to Pew Research data cited by Spotify in its announcement, Gen Zers prefer to get information through digital media, such as podcasts. Thus, radio publishers could use this type of technology to reach new audiences without adding too much to their workload. Spotify claims that more than half of Gen Z and Millennials in the US use the platform, while it has over 500 million users worldwide.

For consumers, the tool will likely bring an even wider selection of podcasts to Spotify. This could give YouTubers and Twitch streamers who host live podcasts an easy way to make their chats available on Spotify as well.