On June 22nd Facebook will start rolling out its podcast product, which the company hopes will become “the place where people can enjoy, discuss, and share the podcasts they love with each other.” In the future they will also add a feature that will allow users to create clips of their favourite shows.
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Facebook sent an email to podcast page owners, giving hosts the ability to link their show’s RSS feed with their Facebook accounts. It will automatically generate News Feed posts for all episodes published going forward.
A new “podcasts” tab will be created where these episodes will appear, which Facebook previously teased in an announcement of audio initiatives the company have undertaken. The company confirmed that a limited number of podcast owners will have access to feature at the beginning as it tests the new functionality. That being said, many more podcast pages have been sent the mail than previously thought.
The terms and conditions attached to the new feature is relatively standard, other than one clause that allows Facebook to create derivatives of the content (such as the aforementioned clips). This may be a deal breaker for podcast hosts that are concerned about their intellectual property.
Hosts can also choose to switch off the ability for users to clip their episodes. According to Facebook, the clips will “help increase visibility and engagement.” The idea is a direct clone of the same capability created on Twitch, which allows users to share their favourite moments from lengthy streams. Facebook hopes the same idea can be used to grow their podcast platform quickly.
For many podcasts it makes a lot of sense to use this new Facebook platform. Podcasters already use Facebook to drive conversation with their listeners and promote their shows, of course. The social aspect of podcasts isn’t fully explored yet and Facebook wants to take advantage of this.
