YouTube Music

YouTube Music is a music streaming service made by YouTube, which is part of Google. This service lets people listen to music and watch music videos from many genres and playlists on YouTube. It also suggests music that users might like.

On December 1, 2020, YouTube Music replaced Google Play Music as Google’s main music streaming service. In April 2023, YouTube Music started including podcasts before Google Podcasts stopped working.

YouTube Music also offers a special membership for people who pay extra. With this, users can listen to music without ads, play music even when they aren’t looking at their screen, and save songs to listen to later without an internet connection. This special membership is also part of YouTube Premium.

History

The YouTube Music app started in October 2015 and launched the next month. It came with YouTube Premium, a bigger subscription service that includes everything on YouTube, including the Music app. The app was made for people who enjoy music mostly through YouTube.

In May 2018, YouTube showed a new version of YouTube Music. This version included a web player for computers, a redesigned phone app, and smarter recommendations. YouTube Music also became its own subscription service, competing with Apple Music and Spotify. It cost US$9.99 per month and offered music without ads, background play, and offline downloads. In 2018, YouTube Music also became a partner for special TV events like Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve and the American Music Awards.

In April 2019, YouTube Music became available on Google Assistant smart speakers, such as Google Nest. In July 2024, it was added to Tesla cars.

Features

YouTube Music has lots of music from popular artists and any videos on YouTube that are music. It started as its own service but later replaced another service called Google Play Music in December 2020.

YouTube Music has added many helpful features over time. Users can save music before it comes out, see a yearly list of their favorite songs and artists, and make their own radio stations. In 2023, podcasts were added to the service, but only in the US at first.

The free version of YouTube Music plays songs with music videos and shows ads. The premium version lets users listen to just the audio without videos, even while doing other things. Premium also has better sound quality and can be shared with up to six family members in the same home. Students can get a lower price for the premium service.

Main article: Google Mobile Services

Main articles: Google Podcasts, Spotify Wrapped

Geographic availability

YouTube Music can be used in most of the Americas, Europe and Oceania, and in parts of Africa and Asia. It is available in 119 markets. Google stopped services in Russia because of the conflict there, including YouTube Music.