Facebook Ditches Podcasts, Soundbites

pcmag.com:

Facebook is scrapping audio-only creation just one year after introducing a set of mobile-friendly tools.

According to Bloomberg, the social network plans to discontinue functions like Soundbites and Podcasts this summer, and no podcasts will be available after June 3.

Launched in April 2021 via Facebook and Messenger, the new audio features aimed to give users a space to share ideas with new audiences "without the added pressure of being on camera," Facebook said last year.

Internal interest, however, waned as parent company Meta turned its sights toward other projects. "We're constantly evaluating the features we offer so we can focus on the most meaningful experiences," a Meta spokesperson told Bloomberg, adding that Facebook's audio hub will shutter sometime in the "coming weeks."

Available only to US listeners on mobile, podcasts are uploaded to a user's Page where people can listen to episodes directly on Facebook. An upcoming feature that would allow the sharing of clips less than one minute long will is now unlikely not come to fruition.

Rather than alerting users to its podcast purge, Facebook will leave it up to publishers to "decide how they want to disclose that information," adding that Live Audio Rooms will be folded into Facebook Live. The Clubhouse rival debuted last year with NFL player Russell Wilson, record producer TOKiMONSTA, artist and director Elle Moxley, and Olympic medalist and entrepreneur Nastia Liukin. It's unclear whether fans can still support users through Stars.

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