Google has been involved in the music streaming game for many years, but despite beating Apple to the punch with Play Music way back in 2011 and launching multiple different services over time, the search giant never actually became a major player in a thriving but incredibly competitive industry dominated by Spotify.
Of course, one of the reasons why Google Play Music popularity took a big hit in recent years was precisely the 2015 debut of YouTube Music, which essentially fulfilled the same core purpose. It was never much of a secret that Big G ultimately intended to pull the plug on its rookie audio streaming platform in favor of its successor, and although the time to say goodbye hasn't come yet, we're now mere months away from the official death of Google Play Music.
The wait for a transfer feature is finally over
In preparation for that inevitable move, which is still vaguely scheduled for "later this year", Google is doing something it should have done a long time ago. Namely, adding a seamless transfer tool to help Play Music subscribers easily migrate all their stuff to YouTube Music.
We're talking not just favorite songs and albums, as well as personal and subscribed playlists, but also all your purchases, uploads, curated stations, and personal taste preferences, which can be transferred with one click (or tap) of a YouTube Music button. The process is truly as simple and as straightforward as it sounds, although depending on your data, it could naturally take a little more than a few minutes.
Recommendations will be updated instantly on the YouTube Music home screen, which is pretty cool, and Google will let you know both by email and smartphone notifications when all your favorite tracks and albums are available in your "new home" for music streaming.
Many of the same features, plenty of add-ons, no pricing changes
Obviously, you should take all the time in the world (well, not exactly) and start the transfer process only when you're ready to bid adieu to the Google Play Music platform so many people used to love against all odds. Before completely shutting down the service, Google is naturally planning to provide "plenty of notice", giving everyone a chance to start fresh... without actually starting from scratch on an entirely new platform.
By the way, YouTube Music is extremely similar to its forerunner in many ways, as well as arguably superior in a few key departments, and you can enjoy the app completely free of charge with ads or pay $9.99 a month for a Premium membership. There's also the all-inclusive $11.99 YouTube Premium option to consider if you want to get rid of ads and enjoy background listening and offline playback features "across all of YouTube."
Google Play Music Unlimited members looking to switch to YouTube Music Premium or YouTube Premium shouldn't be worried about any pricing changes either, as they will be "automatically granted the equivalent tier" of the new service based on their existing "level of benefits."
In other words, Google seems to have thought of everything in its mission to make this transition as smooth and frictionless as possible. That also includes podcast transfers, although if you're into that sort of thing, you'll need to move your subscriptions and episode progress to a separate app simply called Google Podcasts.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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