Axgetyoutube music
Latest
YouTube Music adds an Explore tab to help you find new music
It's taken a while, but YouTube is about to ditch its Hotlist tab in favor of a more useful Explore section that highlights new music for you to stream.
Music streaming subscriptions grew by nearly a third in 2019
Streaming music still has a lot of room to grow, it appears. Counterpoint Research has determined that paid music subscriptions jumped 32 percent in 2019 to reach 358 million thanks to a mix of exclusives, phone service bundles, regional price cuts and extended trial periods. Not that the services will want to get complacent -- competition is heating up, according to analysts.
YouTube Music brings in-app lyrics to everyone
A few weeks ago, YouTube Music launched a new playback screen alongside an experimental feature that displays lyrics within the Android app. Now, the feature is making its way to everyone using the application. You'll now be able to access static lyrics from within YouTube Music's Android and iOS apps, whether you're a free or a paying user. Sure, you can always just look up the words to a song, but the feature sounds handy if you want to sing along and don't want to fire up your browser.
YouTube Music's redesigned playback screen includes lyrics
YouTube Music is still catching up on features, and this time around it's one of the most important elements: the Now Playing screen you see whenever you listen. After weeks of testing, the Android version's updated playback screen includes clearer and more persistent buttons, including Up Next (to show your queue), shuffle, repeat and flipping between pure music and videos. However, it also includes an "experiment" that displays lyrics -- not a new feature in music apps, but appreciated all the same. Just be aware that it only works with some songs.
YouTube Music explains how its long-overdue cloud locker will work
Earlier this month it came to light that YouTube was finally working on a way to let you upload your own music to its library. Now, that feature is almost good to go. Google has published a support document explaining how users will be able to add their personal music collection to their library, either by dragging files to any surface on music.youtube.com, or by tapping "upload music" within the profile menu. The feature supports FLAC, M4A, MP3, OGG and WMA files.
YouTube Music might finally let you upload your own music library
Google has spent the past couple of years merging elements of Google Play Music into YouTube Music, but one absence has been a dealbreaker for some: the cloud locker that lets you play uploaded songs wherever you like. You might not have to forego that convenience in the near future, though. Two 9to5Google sources claim Google is testing an internal beta of YouTube Music that supports the locker. There could be a public launch "sooner rather than later," with Google Play Music devotees asked to import their collections within a few months.
YouTube Premium and Music have 20 million subscribers
It's now clearer just how YouTube's streaming services stack up against rivals. Alphabet chief Sundar Pichai revealed during the company's latest earnings call that YouTube Premium and Music have a combined 20 million subscribers as of the fourth quarter of 2019. That's a far cry from Spotify's 113 million paying users (as of September 2019) and Apple Music's 60 million (as of June 2019), but still makes YouTube one of the bigger music providers assuming Premium users are taking advantage of their included Music access. Amazon Music had 55 million users as of January this year, but it's not clear how many of those are paying for full-fledged Music Unlimited access.
Streaming now accounts for 80 percent of the US music market
Streaming has completely reshaped the face of the music industry over the last decade, with the likes of Spotify and Apple Music proving to be overwhelmingly popular with music fans. The Recording Industry Association of America has revealed some stats that underline the mammoth sea change. The organization says streaming accounts for 80 percent of the US music market, compared with seven percent in 2010. Streaming subscriptions rose from about 1.5 million to around 61 million between 2010 and the first half of 2019, according to the RIAA.
YouTube Music can handle gapless playback on the web and Android
Gapless music playback, the hot old-is-new feature when Spotify and Google Play Music added it on some platforms in 2012, is finally widely available to YouTube Music subscribers. Listening to playlists or albums with nary a pause between tracks is currently possible for premium members using Android or the web, and will be available on iOS "soon." Some users had noticed the feature being switched on back in October, but now it should be available to everyone. As we noted when YouTube Music launched last year, it arrived late to the party and very light on key features. There's still a long list of additions users are waiting for the service to work through, but hopefully this is just the first of many updates to expect as we head into a new year.
YouTube Music now plays nicely with Siri
Siri can now play YouTube Music, meaning you'll no longer have to choose between Apple Music or Spotify to listen through the Apple assistant. The change was made possible by iOS 13, and it works with Apple CarPlay, so you'll get hands-free control of YouTube Music as you drive.
YouTube Music listeners are getting three personalized playlists this month
YouTube Music's big plan to take on Spotify appears to be essentially copying Spotify's personalized playlists. YouTube is preparing to launch three new playlists: Discover Mix, New Release Mix and Your Mix. The platform's Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan discussed the playlists today at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2019, and they sound remarkably similar to Spotify's offerings.
YouTube Music will come pre-installed on all Android 10 phones
While it was only a matter of time, YouTube Music, instead of Google Play Music, is now Android's official music app. Moving forward, Google says YouTube Music will come pre-installed on all new Android smartphones that ship with Android 10 and Android 9 Pie.
Waze adds easy access to YouTube Music while you drive
You'd think Google would have raced to make YouTube Music controls available inside Waze, but not so -- numerous third-party services got there first. At last, though, there's some harmony. Waze has added YouTube Music integration that brings playback controls to your navigation screen on both Android and iOS. As with other apps, you can quickly skip a track or give it a thumbs-up without having to switch apps -- important when you're eager to put on a favorite tune before the traffic light turns green.
YouTube will stream Lollapalooza live starting August 1st
It's going to be particularly easy to watch Lollapalooza concerts online this year. YouTube is livestreaming the 2019 music festival between August 1st and August 4th, both through Lollapalooza's channel as well as through YouTube Music. You'll see "curated" performances from the likes of Janelle Monae and Twenty One Pilots, but there will also be three streams to follow the action from multiple stages. It won't be the same as being there, but that might not be a bad thing if you're less than fond of sweaty crowds or making a pilgrimage to Chicago.
YouTube Music adds seamless switching between audio and videos
If you're a YouTube Premium or Music Premium subscriber, switching between a song and its music video should be smoother as of today. You can hop back and forth between the two, and playback will continue from the same point with no pauses or interruptions, YouTube says.
YouTube Music will automatically download your favorite songs
YouTube Music is making it easier to keep listening to your favorite tracks even when you're away from a consistent internet connection. The app is getting a new feature called Smart Downloads that will automatically download up to 500 songs you've clicked the "like" button on. The feature will be available on Android devices for YouTube Music Premium subscribers.
YouTube and Universal Music Group are remastering old music videos
YouTube is perhaps the single biggest public repository of music videos, but many are bit outdated, with visuals and audio designed for old TVs with single speakers, and others that could use a bit of an upgrade too. Many videos from major artists will soon look and sound much better though, as YouTube and Universal Music Group are remastering almost 1,000 of them "to the highest possible standards."
Google's subscription music numbers reportedly top 15 million
Even as subscription services eat up an ever-growing portion of the overall music business, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal report that Google's packages are not expanding at the same rate. RIAA numbers showed subscription services added more than a million customers a month during 2018, meanwhile the Wall Street Journal cites sources claiming YouTube Music and Google Play Music subscriptions have been "essentially flat" over four recent months. While Spotify has over 100 million customers, the reported numbers put Google's music offerings at 15 - 16 million. Google told the outlets that subscription numbers and the reports of flat growth are inaccurate, and that as of March, combined subscribers to YouTube Premium and YouTube Music are up 60 percent over last year. Still, the numbers claimed by the sources paint an interesting picture as Google continues to slowly shift from Google Play Music to YouTube Music. A year after launching the YouTube-branded service, it's only just adding features like the ability to play locally-stored songs and still has not replaced GPM's cloud locker for user's own music files. Meanwhile, YouTube continues to be a way many people access music and music videos for free with Google's ads. While it would certainly like to turn those folks into more paying subscribers, having that backdrop means that even with fewer customers, its potential is a bit different than the offerings from Apple, Spotify and Amazon.
YouTube Music for Android can play your local song collection
If YouTube Music is going to fully replace Google Play Music, it will need to handle many of the features that listeners take for granted -- and now, local playback is one of them. After an initial rollout for some users, YouTube Music's Android app now supports locally-stored songs for many (if not necessarily all) users in a "Device Files" section. You might not have to worry about missing out on a hard-to-find tune just because you want one app to handle both your local and streaming music collections.
YouTube Music is free on Google Home, if you don't mind ads
Starting today, YouTube Music is offering a free, ad-supported experience on Google Home speakers and other Google Assistant-powered speakers. Just navigate to account settings, tap services and select music, then set YouTube Music as the default music service. Then it's just a case of saying "Hey Google, play [whatever]" and you're away. However, the ad-supported YouTube Music experience won't let you request specific songs, albums or playlist. Instead, you can tell it a genre or style or mood of music you're looking for and your Google Home will play a station based on that request.
