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Ahead of the International Podcast Day on September 30, Spotify has introduced a new transcript feature for podcasts. This new auto-generated transcripts feature will be available to podcasters in the coming weeks.
Besides, the time-synced text transcripts will enable listeners to visually follow along as the podcast progresses. Scroll down below the podcast player, tap into a “read along” section, and you should be able to access transcripts.
Transcriptions make the podcasts more accessible and allow listeners to grasp the content by skipping and skimming without listening to the entire episode.
Spotify says:
“We’ll be rolling out transcripts to millions of episodes in the coming weeks, and we’ll innovate more on this feature in the future, including ways to add media to transcripts. This is all part of our goal to bring more depth to the podcasts you’re listening to.”
According to a recent study, Spotify has around 11 million artists and creators, as well as 551 million monthly active listeners. It has become the most-used audio podcast platform worldwide. The streaming giant is aiming to dominate the market by launching many new and exciting features.
The feature is limited to a handful of creators to translate English-language podcasts into Spanish, with French and German translations coming in the next few weeks.
Spotify’s soon-to-be-launched auto-transcript feature follows the addition of an AI-generated voice cloning tool. The voice cloning tool translates podcasts into different languages using OpenAI’s Whisper technology.
In addition, Spotify now allows mobile podcast listeners to navigate around an episode using time-stamped chapters. Podcast creators add time stamps, briefly describing a segment of the show. So, podcast listeners will be able to preview topics or start listening at any specific point.
To sum up, Spotify is starting to roll out the following new features available to Free and Premium users worldwide:
- Making podcast transcripts richer and easier to follow
- Expanding podcast chapters
- Updating the podcast show pages
Navkiran Dhaliwal is a seasoned content writer with 10+ years of experience. When she's not writing, she can be found cooking up a storm or spending time with her dog, Rain.