In October, 2015, our very own Rob Walch ate paper. No, really, he ate paper. Why? Because Google announced that podcasting would be joining Google Play Music, meaning Android would finally have a native podcast directory.
Guess what… It’s here! That’s right, podcasts in Google Play Music has gone live. That means any show successfully submitted to the Google Play Music portal is available in the Google Play Music podcast library.
I am sure you all have plenty of questions, so I am going to try to answer them for you in the following FAQ.
Q: How do I submit my show to Google Play Music?
A: We have a step by step guide you can find here.
Q: What will my show look like in the Google Play Music podcast directory?
A: There will be a landing page for your show in the directory on the web and in the app, similar to how iTunes handles show pages in their store.
Q: Can I share a URL to my show in the Google Play Music directory in e-mails or social media?
A: Yes! You most certainly can! You can grab a link to your show in the portal.
Q: What platforms will this be available on?
A: Currently, podcasts can be found in Google Play Music using the web interface, and it will roll out to Android devices. This is not currently available in the Google Play Music app for iOS.
Q: Will I be able to see statistics in Libsyn from Google Play Music?
A: Not currently. Google Play Music will be (according to their portal) opening up statistics in their own system on or before April 25th, 2016. They do not yet have an API or other method for delivering stats to any third party, including Libsyn.
As Google Play Music will be copying your file from Libsyn and playing it on their servers, we don’t have any way of tracking stats ourselves, as we do with other more traditional directories.
Have additional questions? Please reach out to our support staff at support@libsyn.com. We’d love to hear from you!