Spotify Created a Competitor to Google NotebookLM: New Podcast Application

Spotify presented a new desktop application for creating personalized podcasts. The application was released in research preview mode in more than 20 countries worldwide, allowing the company to gather feedback from real users before a full launch.

Direct Competitor to Google NotebookLM

Google NotebookLM caused a real stir in the audio content market, allowing users to transform PDF documents, articles, and text files into high-quality podcasts using generative AI. In just a few months, the service attracted millions of active users, demonstrating that demand for such a tool is enormous. Spotify, which owns its own platform with 500+ million users and a vast audience of podcast listeners, could not stay on the sidelines. The company's new application is a direct competitor to Google, but with one important difference: integration into the Spotify ecosystem, where millions of people already listen to audio content.

Strategic Move: From Distributor to Creator

Interestingly, Spotify is making a decisive step into content creation, not just its distribution. Previously, the company positioned itself as a platform for distributing podcasts, but the new application changes this strategy. The goal is simple: to bind creators to the platform at an earlier stage — at the moment of content production, not just at the distribution of finished material. This makes sense: if a creator produces a podcast in Spotify's tool, it would be logical to publish it right there, in the platform's ecosystem.

Why Now

Podcasting is one of the fastest-growing content formats:

• Audio content is consumed during sports, household chores, and driving
• NotebookLM reached millions of active users in just months
• Spotify owns a massive audience, but the conversion to podcast listeners can be improved
• AI content creation tools significantly lower the barrier to entry for new authors
• There is growing demand for personal, curated content

How It Works

The application is positioned as a tool for turning your own content — texts, research, notes, articles — into ready-to-publish podcasts. Research preview means that features may change, the interface will be refined, and user experience will be optimized based on feedback from 20+ countries. The company systematically collects data on how users work with the tool, what problems arise, and which features need improvement.

What This Means

The market for AI content creation tools is expanding at lightning speed. Google NotebookLM opened the door by demonstrating mass demand, and now major players — Spotify, Apple, Meta, and others — will make serious attempts to capture a share of this niche. For creators, this is good news: there will be more tool options, each with unique features. For listeners, it means higher-quality content created faster and more easily.

*Meta is recognized as an extremist organization and is banned in Russia.