When listening to songs in the YouTube mobile client, Google will occasionally prompt users to open the YouTube Music app for a better experience. The main YouTube app is now testing a dedicated “Listening controls” experience for music.
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In February, Google said its streaming service would add “even more” playlist creation features and increase discoverability of those user-generated collections. That has so far been the only app roadmap provided by the company this year. YouTube Music is now implementing those plans in search by distinguishing between Featured and Community playlists.
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With Google Play Music now double dead and even fully disabled on devices in favor of YouTube Music, if you’re simply not a fan of the replacement, you might be looking for some serious audio alternatives.
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The criticism of YouTube Music, especially from Google Play Music users, is that it bizarrely lacks basic features. One of those is the ability to repeat songs while Casting, though that has finally just been added to YouTube Music on Android.
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Following a brief test earlier this week on the main website, YouTube Music for Android is now beginning to more widely see outline-style icons.
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At the start of December, the Google Play Music website and mobile apps officially stopped working for all users worldwide. It marked the biggest milestone in the transition to YouTube Music, but there is one last step. Before February 24th, transfer your Play Music library to the replacement YouTube service, or download using Google Takeout.
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The evolution of YouTube Music continues with the music streaming service adding a new “Library Tracks” playlist for some users out there that collates your entire music library into one large listenable collection.
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YouTube Music has seen a few tweaks since the start of this year, with the latest one giving users a better preview of what songs are in playlists they’ve created, thanks to a grid view that matches Spotify and Apple Music.
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As of last year, downloading certain apps from the Play Store on Chrome OS would automatically “install” the Progressive Web App. The latest service to follow this PWA approach is YouTube Music, though Google is taking a circuitous route with a separate Chromebook listing.
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While we’re well into the new year, YouTube Music looks to be taking another stab at giving users a 2020 Year in Review. Hopefully, this iteration will be widely rolled out.
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Like autoplay on the main video site, YouTube Music is good at recommending similar songs to listen to next. YouTube Music is now surfacing “Start radio” right on the main Now Playing interface.
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Almost a month into the new year, YouTube Music has yet to see any major changes. There have been a handful of tweaks, and the latest today involves YouTube Music switching to grid views when displaying albums and singles on artist profiles.
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YouTube Music is now Google’s only song streaming service after Play Music was deprecated last year, though transfers are still available. A small tweak sees YouTube Music being prominently advertised on the YouTube.com sidebar.
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The general layout of YouTube Music has remained largely the same since its 2018 relaunch, but a small change online and on Android sees Google tweak the background theme.
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As we have now seen the much-loved Google Music bite the dust in recent weeks, YouTube Music has added yet another notable but frustrating feature in the form of animated video previews when scrolling your music feed.
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After generating a straightforward playlist with top songs, YouTube Music is now emailing subscribers a “Your 2020 music journey” recap complete with listening stats and other breakdowns.
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Those that don’t pay for YouTube Music are either using it for the cloud locker or as a lighter YouTube client just for songs. Free YouTube Music users are now seeing a prominent “Upgrade” tab in the bottom bar.
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To show off the quality of its new Nest Audio speaker that we reviewed in October, Google has just released a collection of exclusive acoustic recordings, “Nest Audio Sessions,” from popular artists on YouTube Music.
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Following Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replay, YouTube Music’s 2020 Year in Review is officially rolling out today. It’s a relatively straightforward playlist featuring the “songs you listened to the most this year.”
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After a big update last week introduced new My Mixes and homepage “moods,” YouTube Music is rolling out a carousel of “Quick picks” to instantaneously generate a radio playlist.
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YouTube Music looks to be joining its competitors in offering a “Year in Review” playlist to “relive the top songs you listened to.”
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As Play Music nears deprecation, Google continues to update its successor with more and more features. YouTube Music is now working on Snapchat and Instagram story sharing, but the functionality is not yet live.
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With the Play Music deprecation underway, YouTube Music continues its onslaught of new features. YouTube Music today is rolling out high-level filters that let you customize the homepage, as well as six “My Mixes.”
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Back in February, Google provided an update on YouTube Music/Premium and YouTube TV subscribers. During Q3 2020 earnings, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai announced 30 million, ad-free paying members and another million for the cord-cutting service.
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