The Transition to YouTube Music Begins

Google says that Google Play Music users will soon be prompted to transition to YouTube Music and Google Podcasts.

I still use and prefer Google Play Music, so this change is a tough one for me. But it’s not like we weren’t warned: Google has been plotting this transition since it launched YouTube Music two years ago, and it has been steadily updating it since. And when Android 10 launched late last year, Google finally replaced Google Play Music with YouTube Music in the stock app install bundle.

News of the transition comes via a YouTube video posted today by Google’s Team YouTube. I’m not seeing this prompt yet, but there are pages live for transitioning to both YouTube Music and Google Podcasts—Google Play Music supports both music and podcast services—now. Google tells me in the former case that my account isn’t yet ready.

“Your uploads and purchases, playlists, stations, likes and dislikes, albums, and songs, anything in your library, will be moved over with … one click,” the video explains, later adding that the transition process will change your Google Play Music stations into playlists since YouTube Music doesn’t support stations.

And those with subscriptions will also be moved over to the equivalent YouTube Music subscription, Google says, though some subscription content may not appear in the new service if it’s not available there. Your monthly fee shouldn’t change.