Twitter could double down on audio with both Spaces and Podcasts

What you need to know

• Twitter may add a Podcasts tab to the Twitter app.
• Leakers Jane Manchun Wong and Alessandro Paluzzi revealed alleged screenshots of the feature in action. 
• Twitter Spaces currently lets you record audio that followers can listen to for 30 days.

Two code leakers independently uncovered evidence that Twitter could add a dedicated Podcasts tab to the Twitter app. Twitter Spaces launched as an audio-only space to compete with Clubhouse; now, Twitter allegedly wants to compete with Apple and Spotify by offering its own podcasts space. 

Leakers Jane Manchun Wong and Alessandro Paluzzi both spotted and leaked screenshots of the Twitter app showing a dedicated Podcasts tab. Two independent reports lend credence to the idea that this is a genuine leak.

So far, the code leaks have only unveiled the presence of the tab itself, with a generic  mic as the logo. Despite the potential overlap between the two features, Twitter Spaces and Twitter Podcasts will apparently coexist as separate offerings. 

Right now, you can host Spaces conversations with followers, invite listeners to speak, and save the recording for 30 days so people can listen to them after the fact. It started out as an exclusive option for users with high subscriber counts before Twitter made it available for everyone.

Presumably, Twitter Podcasts will offer a more traditional podcast experience with permanent recordings — which will put it in direct competition with the many excellent podcasts apps available. 

Perhaps the appeal of Twitter podcasts would be that any Twitter user could easily create their own and embed them in Tweets on their feed. Like Spaces, Twitter Podcasts would likely start out exclusive to verified users or Twitter Blue subscribers through Twitter Labs, before becoming available to everyone. 

Users could even offer their podcasts as a Super Follow perk, meaning followers would have to pay to hear them. 

We will reach out to Twitter to see if they have a comment, but TechCrunch received the statement, "We’re always exploring new ways to help people engage in the conversation on Twitter, but have no further details to share at this time." We'll have to wait and see how long the service takes to arrive, as these leaks can often precede the actual feature by months.