Google announced a migration tool for taking your library from Google Play Music library of uploaded songs and getting them onto its new YouTube Music service back in May. Now, it'due south apace becoming more widely bachelor across the globe. Information technology'due south non immediately intuitive what the tool will and won't preserve, though, and the benefits and drawbacks of taking your deject music library over to Google'due south new music streaming platform. In this guide, we'll show you the ins and outs of the tool and everything you need to know about using it.

Before we dive into the process, be warned that it might have a while until library migration is bachelor to you. Since all of your data needs to exist copied over, Google is probably fighting with limited server capacities, so it'south rolling out the tool in stages based on your location. You should see a popup or toast in Google Play Music when it arrives on your business relationship, and the company will send you an email.

Using the Android (or iOS) app

To go started with the migration, yous need to install YouTube Music on your phone. Make sure information technology's at least version 3.65. If it's not bachelor to yous on the Play Store just still, you tin can get the latest version from APK Mirror.

Left & Middle: Switch banners. Right: Transfer workflow.

If the tool has rolled out to you, you should see a message on the app'southward homescreen, telling you lot that Play Music is going away and that you can start the migration. Tap the "Let'south go" button and you're taken to a screen showing you in which society your items will be moved over. If yous're a Play Music subscriber, your subscription will also exist rolled over, and the price will remain the same — even if you're grandfathered in on the $7.99 programme or the family subscription. When you're ready to commencement, tap "Transfer." A banner will pop up, telling yous that the migration is in progress and that you can explore YouTube Music now.

The tool will first import your recommendations so you can starting time listening to personalized mixes on YouTube Music before the full transfer is finished. Yous can tap a banner below the elevation bar to see how far your migration has progressed.

You tin commencement exploring YTM while the migration is in progress.

You'll receive a notification and an email once the transfer is finished, which tin can take a few minutes or multiple days depending on how many songs you've uploaded. When I made the switch myself, I noticed that a few songs in some erstwhile Play Music playlists were still grayed out and unavailable after getting the notification, but that effect fixed itself after a few days.

Using the spider web app

If yous'd rather use your calculator to kick off the migration, head to music.youtube.com/transfer. Similar the app, this website shows y'all which data it'll transfer in which order. Click the "Transfer" button to get going. You can then explore the YouTube web app, and a banner volition let your return to the transfer overview so you can come across your progress — the process is basically the same as in the Android app.

What if I keep using Play Music later on the switch?

If you still proceed using Play Music afterwards making the initial switch, don't worry: You can sync your libraries as ofttimes as you want to by clicking or borer your profile pic in the top correct corner and heading to settings, where you'll observe an choice to boot off the migration tool again. That tin be done both on the web and in the Android app.

Where are my uploads and stations?

YouTube Music organizes some things differently from Play Music. Your uploads sit in a divide section of the app, sealed away from the platform'due south streaming service aspect. When yous browse your library or search results, you'll notice that there are two tabs at the top, 1 for YT Music and ane for uploads. It's self-explanatory enough, merely yous need to exist aware of information technology if you can't find some of the albums yous thought you'd uploaded. We've got a granular comparison of how YouTube Music handles uploads compared to Play Music.

Stations aren't a thing in YouTube Music, so it converts all of your stations to playlists. Their content is identical — the only departure is that you can actually run into all the individual songs within a playlist, which yous couldn't with stations, at least without playing them. YouTube Music as well has curated and AI-generated playlists that supercede things like Play Music'southward New Release Radio or the Feeling Lucky station.

I'm missing some songs. What's upwards with that?

All of your uploads and purchases will be transferred, just since YouTube Music has different licensing deals than Play Music, you might not find the same selection of songs as bachelor on Play Music's streaming service. Google says these cases should be few and far between, and some songs that have disappeared from your Play Music library due to rights or licensing might even reappear in YouTube Music somewhen.

Can I make the switch if I'm a free user?

Yes. YouTube Music lets y'all play your uploaded songs in the background, and you lot can download them. Casting capability is limited, though — as far equally I tin tell, y'all can't enquire an Assistant-equipped speaker to play uploaded songs, and then you need to cast your music via the Android app.

In dissimilarity to Play Music, you lot tin also admission the streaming service of the platform for complimentary, but yous'll have to suffer ads, and y'all need to leave your phone'southward screen turned on and the YouTube Music app in the foreground while you listen. The background limitation doesn't apply to the web app, though.

I already use YouTube Music. Will my library exist overwritten?

That's the state of affairs I institute myself in, and as far as I tin can tell, no data got lost when I fabricated the switch. Instead, your libraries volition be combined intelligently. I uploaded a few albums to YouTube Music already in my Play Music library prior to the migration and in that location were no duplicates. A few identically titled playlists across the two services were retained as separate lists, instead.

What about podcasts?

Some people use Play Music to listen to podcasts, but YouTube Music doesn't support that format. You can instead export your episode progress and subscriptions to Google Podcasts. Once the migration tool has rolled out to y'all, y'all tin head to podcasts.google.com/transfer to boot off the split transfer.

The podcast player is bachelor on your Android phone equally part of the Google app (only search for a podcast you're interested in), but you can also get a dedicated launcher icon from the Play Store if yous prefer. At that place's also a spider web interface.

While some people might wish to take more than granular control over which songs and playlists to transfer, the tool is as straightforward and like shooting fish in a barrel to employ as it can get, which was Google's goal. The YouTube Music squad knows that there are nonetheless some significant differences betwixt the ii services, so it wanted to make the transition equally smooth and painless as possible.

If you're interested in how such a switch pans out for someone who has used Play Music ever since information technology became bachelor, bank check out my editorial on my experience with YouTube Music (written earlier the migration tool rolled out).

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Near The Writer

Manuel Vonau (1638 Articles Published)

Manuel is a tech enthusiast and Android fan based in Berlin. When he's non writing manufactures for Android Police, he'south probably out and about as a videographer.

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