A few days ago, we brought you the news of the year, or one of many. Spotify was going to use AI to dub podcasts in several languages on its platform. This way, they improved accessibility, and any listener could enjoy the thousands of programs offered in the green app.
Spotify doesn’t slow down when it comes to adding new features, and the latest update announced by the streaming service is automatic podcast transcription, allowing you to read while you listen.
“In the coming weeks, we will launch the transcription of millions of episodes and will continue to innovate on this feature in the future,” says Spotify. One of these future innovations will be the ability to add media such as images to the transcriptions.
A function similar to the karaoke tool, but for podcasts
To find the transcription of a podcast, all you need to do is scroll down on the Now Playing screen in the mobile app and tap the “Read” card to view the full text. The transcription automatically syncs with the audio as you move forward and backward.
It’s useful for those who can’t listen to audio on their phone in the usual way or for those moments when you don’t have headphones but can’t turn up the phone’s speaker volume either.
Spotify has timed this announcement with International Podcast Day, which we just found out exists and apparently falls on September 30th. Additionally, Spotify is revamping the pages of the shows that provide information about the podcasts.
According to Spotify, their podcasts are proving to be a success: they now have 100 million regular listeners, a tenfold increase since 2019, and statistics show that 500 million people have listened to at least one podcast on the platform during that time.
Spotify’s podcast catalog now extends to 5 million shows in 170 different countries, and the company is participating in various podcast festivals and events worldwide in the coming months to further boost their numbers.
