YouTube Music is amusic streaming service developed by the American video platformYouTube, asubsidiary ofGoogle. The service is designed with an interface that allows users to simultaneously explore music audios andmusic videos from YouTube-based genres, playlists and recommendations. On December 1, 2020, YouTube Music replacedGoogle Play Music as Google's primary brand for music streaming. In April 2023, the service expanded its offerings to include support forpodcasts[2] shortly beforeGoogle Podcasts was shut down.
YouTube Music also features a premium tier that provides several benefits to paying subscribers. These include ad-free playback, the ability to play audio in the background, and the option to download songs for offline listening. These benefits are also bundled with and available to subscribers ofYouTube Premium.
The YouTube Music app was unveiled in October 2015 and released the following month; its release came alongside the unveiling ofYouTube Premium (originally calledYouTube Red), a larger subscription service that covers the entirety of the YouTube platform, including the Music app. Although redundant toGoogle's existingGoogle Play Music All Access subscription service, the app was designed for users who primarily consume music through YouTube.[3][4]
On May 17, 2018, YouTube announced a new version of the YouTube Music service, including a web-based desktop player and redesigned mobile app, more dynamic recommendations based on various factors, and Google artificial intelligence technology to search songs based on lyrics and descriptions. In addition, YouTube Music became a separate subscription service (positioned as a more direct competitor toApple Music andSpotify), offering ad-free and background/audio-only streaming, and downloading for offline playback, for music content on YouTube. The service's benefits continued to be available as part of the existing YouTube Premium service and to Google Play Music All Access subscribers. The YouTube Music subscription was priced in line with its competitors at US$9.99 per month; the price of YouTube Premium was concurrently increased to $11.99 for new subscribers.[5][6]
YouTube Music became available onGoogle Assistantsmart speakers (includingGoogle Nest smart speakers) on April 18, 2019, with feature-limited ad-supported playback available for non-subscribers in only a limited number of countries.[9]
In July 2024, YouTube Music became available onTesla cars.[10]
The availability of music encompasses numerous releases from mainstream artists and extends to any video categorized as music on the YouTube platform.
YouTube Music initially operated in parallel with Google Play Music, but the latter was shut down in December 2020.[11] Product manager Elias Roman stated in 2018 that they aimed to reach feature parity with Google Play Music before migrating users to it, but as of 2024 this has not been achieved.[12][13][14]
In September 2019, YouTube Music replaced Google Play Music in the coreGoogle Mobile Services bundle distributed on newAndroid devices.[15][16] In May 2020, an update was released to allow imports from Google Play Music, including purchased music,playlists, cloud libraries, andrecommendations.[17]
A "pre-save" feature for upcoming releases was added in May 2020.[18]
In 2021, YouTube Music introduced a seasonal recap feature, which serves as a culmination of a user's top artists, songs, albums and playlists, in a similar style toSpotify Wrapped.[19]
In February 2023, YouTube Music launched Radio Builder, a free and from anywhere accessible web service for both paying subscribers and free users withiOS orAndroid devices. It allows users to create a custom radio station, selecting up to 30 artists with an option to hear only their songs or from comparable musicians.[20][21][22]
In April 2023, podcasts were added to the service, initially for users in the US only with a worldwide rollout planned at a later date.[2][23]Google Podcasts was shut down worldwide in June 2024 with YouTube Music replacing it.[24][25]
The free tier plays songs in itsmusic video version where applicable. The premium tier plays official tracks of thealbum unless the user searches for the music video version. YouTube Music Premium and YouTube Premium subscribers can switch to an audio-only mode that can play in the background while the application is not in use. The free tier does not allow audio-only mode with background playback as it displays video advertisements.[4]
The free tier's audio quality supports up to 128 kbit/s, inAAC andOpus audio formats.[26] When on premium, you have access to 256 kbps>
YouTube Music Premium and YouTube Premium plans are available in individual and family variants. A family plan allows up to six family members from the same household to access plan features. Eligible students can obtain a discount on an individual plan.
As of March 2024, YouTube Music is available in most of theAmericas,Europe andOceania, as well as parts ofAfrica andAsia, with a total availability in 119 markets.[27] Following theRussian invasion of Ukraine, Google indefinitely suspended all of its all payment and subscription-based services in the country, including YouTube Music.[28][29]
Countries where YouTube Music is available (as of March 2024[update])
