As Google begins to phase out its legacy music app, it is also bringing new features to its current app, YouTube Music.
The tech giant has announced that it will begin shutting down Google Play Music subscriptions in New Zealand and South Africa in September and in other markets globally in October. The app will no longer support purchases or Music Manager updates as of August. Customers will then have until December to back up their music library before the Google Play Music is completely defunct at the end of the year.
This change has been a long time coming since Google introduced YouTube Music in 2015. Customers have essentially had access to both YouTube Music and Google Play Music under the same subscription, with Google’s hope that users would favor YouTube Music.
With Google Play Music support now coming to an end, users have the option to extract their data with Google Takeout, which will allow users to save and download purchased and uploaded content. Or they can seamlessly transition their music and playlists from Google Play Music directly to YouTube Music with Google’s transfer tool.
Meanwhile, YouTube Music is getting some new features for both free and paying subscribers. Free subscribers will now be able to use Youtube Music with Google Assistant or with a Smart TV.
Users can get personalized music suggestions by saying “Hey Google, play recommended music from YouTube Music” to a Google Assistant-enabled devices, such as a smartphone or a smart speaker. Selections will be curated based on a user’s listening history.
Smart TV users can also access the YouTube Music app to access the same content available via phones and smart speakers, including videos, playlists, and live performances. Android TV users can download the YouTube Music app from the Google Play Store.
Paid YouTube Music subscribers can now also take advantage of integration into Google Maps, with play, skip or pause, and playlist options available when within the navigation app. Users can access the YouTube Music icon within Google Maps to continue a seamless music experience while navigating.
