Beginning in the coming weeks, YouTube Music will begin replacing Google Play Music as Google’s prime destination for music listening and discovery. Between September and the end of this year, access to Google Play Music will be removed permanently.
YouTube informed users: “We know that you’ve spent time building your Google Play Music library, so we’ve made it easy to transfer your music library to YouTube Music with just one click, including playlists, uploads and recommendations.”
Google says that, while YouTube Music “looks a bit different from Google Play Music”, it was “built by the same team with the same passion”.
It offers more than 65-million official songs, albums and playlists, as well as many features that users have become familiar with in Google Play Music.
Users need only download the YouTube Music app to transfer all their songs to the replacement service.
Google provided the following guidelines to users for making the move:
Google Play Music library and data
In addition to transferring your library to YouTube Music, you have the option to download any music that you’ve purchased or uploaded to Google Play Music, as well as a list of the tracks, playlists and radio stations in your library. We’ll notify you before you lose access to your Google Play Music library and data. You can also delete your Google Play Music data.
Music Manager and uploads
Uploading and downloading music with Music Manager will be discontinued starting in 14 days. But don’t worry – you can always upload your personal music collection to YouTube Music or download your existing tracks via Google Takeout.
Music store on Google Play
Starting in 14 days, the Music store on Google Play will go away. It will no longer be possible to purchase music on Google Play, and all pre-orders will be cancelled. When you transfer, your purchases will move with you to YouTube Music.
- For more information, visit YouTube Music’s support resources.
