The Era of ‘Reading Podcasts’ Begins on Spotify

Good news for those who frequently forget their headphones.

Spotify now allows you to read your favorite podcasts. The music and podcast application will automatically generate transcripts for podcasts to enhance accessibility.

On Thursday, Spotify announced that it will provide time-synchronized transcripts for podcast episodes. This move aims to improve the accessibility of podcasts for users with hearing impairments. Additionally, users who frequently forget their headphones can now “read” the new episodes while commuting.

The music and podcast application has been diligently working on new features recently. In addition to podcast transcripts, Spotify has introduced AI-powered voice translations into different languages, shared “Jam” playlists for listening in real-time with friends, and a “Your Daily Playlist” that evolves throughout the day based on your listening habits. Alongside podcast transcription, these new features are designed to make Spotify content more accessible and engaging.

Spotify podcast transcripts will be available to both free and premium users in the coming weeks and will apply to “millions of episodes.”

If you have a hearing impairment, forget your headphones, or simply don’t want to miss a single word, this feature will be extremely beneficial.

As the feature has not yet been released, we haven’t had a chance to try it. However, according to Spotify’s announcement, it’s quite simple to use: while listening to a podcast episode, you’ll see a preview of the transcription when you scroll down from the “Now Playing” view. To expand the text to full screen, simply tap on the upper-right corner of the preview. This feature will highlight words as they are spoken, allowing you to read along in sync with the program.