Can I add my own music to Google Play?
Google Play Music is Google’s paid music streaming platform and service. Users can listen to music, create playlists, and save songs both offline and online. In addition to streaming millions of songs from the official Google Play Music library, users also have the option to upload their own music files to the service.
This guide will cover how to add your personal music files to your Google Play Music account and stream or download those files on any device. With Google Play Music’s music locker storage and seamless syncing, you can enjoy your own music collection anywhere just like you can stream songs from Google Play’s official catalog.
Uploading Music Files
Google Play Music supports the following audio file formats for uploading: MP3, ACC, WMA. You have a few different options for uploading music files:
Music Manager App
You can install the Music Manager app on your computer to upload music files from your desktop. The Music Manager app will sync your music files to the cloud so you can access them on any device.
Web Browser
You can also visit the Google Play Music website and upload files directly from your web browser. Simply drag-and-drop files into your library or use the upload button.
Mobile Apps
The Google Play Music apps for Android and iOS allow you to upload music stored locally on your phone or tablet. Tap the menu icon and select “Upload music” to get started.
Limits
Google Play Music allows you to upload up to 50,000 songs total from all sources. Songs purchased through the Google Play Store do not count against this limit (Wikipedia).
Music Manager App
Music Manager is an app for Windows and Mac computers created by Google. It allows you to upload your local music files from your computer to your Google Play Music account, making it available to listen to in the cloud on any device.
Google Play Music, Music Play Store & Music Manager are going away – everything you need to know – According to Google’s announcement, the Music Manager desktop app along with Google Play Music and Music Play Store will be shutting down later in 2020.
Overview and Features
The Music Manager desktop app allows you to:
- Upload music files from your computer to Google Play Music
- Automatically upload new music added to designated folders
- Download previously uploaded music back to your computer
- Manage your Google Play Music library from your desktop
Download and Installation
The Google Music Manager app can be downloaded for free from the Google Play store or Softonic website. It is available for both Windows and Mac operating systems.
Once installed, the app will guide you through connecting your Google account, selecting music folders to upload, and managing settings.
Uploading via Web Browser
One of the easiest ways to upload music to Google Play is by using a web browser on your computer. Simply navigate to music.google.com and log into your Google account.
Once logged in, look for the upload button near the top of the page. Click this button and you’ll be prompted to select files from your computer to upload. You can drag and drop files into the upload window or use the file picker to browse your computer.
The supported file formats for upload include MP3, FLAC, WAV, and more. There is a size limit of 300MB per file. Google Play allows you to upload up to 50,000 songs for free.
The upload process may take some time depending on your internet connection speed and the size of the files. You can continue browsing Google Play music even while uploads are in progress. Once completed, the uploaded songs will appear in the library on all your devices where you are logged into your Google account.
Uploading Music via an Android Device
One way to upload your own songs to Google Play Music is to use the Play Music app on your Android device:
- Open the Google Play Music app on your Android device
- Tap the three-line menu icon on the top-left and select ‘Music Library’
- Tap the three-dot menu icon and select ‘Import audio files’
- Select the songs you want to upload and tap ‘Import’. You can upload up to 50,000 of your own songs.
- When the upload is complete, the songs will be available to stream from Google Play Music on any device where you are logged in.
Upload via iOS Device
To upload your music library from iOS to Google Play Music, you’ll need to use the Google Play Music iPhone/iPad app. Here are the steps to upload songs:
- Open the Google Play Music app on your iPhone or iPad and tap the Menu icon in the top left.
- Select ‘Upload music’ then select which songs or albums you want to upload from your device’s music library.
- Tap the Upload button to start uploading the selected songs to your Google Play Music library (source).
- The app uploads your music securely via the internet to Google Play Music where it can then be accessed across other devices.
The Play Music app uploads the files directly to your cloud library. The upload speed depends on your internet connection and the number/size of tracks. Uploaded songs will not count against any iPad or iPhone storage limits (source).
Smart Auto-Playlists
Google Play Music offers a feature called “Auto Playlists” that automatically generates playlists based on certain criteria. Auto playlists dynamically update over time as new songs matching the criteria are added to your library.
Some examples of auto playlists available in Google Play Music include:
- Recently Added – Includes songs recently uploaded or purchased, usually the last few weeks
- Most Played – Tracks with the highest play counts
- Free and Purchased – Separates paid store music from free promotional tracks
- Thumbs Up – All songs you have “liked” by tapping the thumbs up icon
Auto playlists make it easy to find music matching certain categories without having to manually create and maintain playlists. For example, the “Recently Added” playlist always stays current with your latest uploads or purchases.1
Limits and Restrictions
Google Play Music imposes some limits on the files you can upload in terms of filesize and number of tracks. According to Google’s support page, you can store up to 50,000 songs from your personal library for free. This limit applies to both songs purchased from Google Play as well as your own uploaded music files (1).
In terms of filesize, each music file uploaded to Google Play Music must be under 300 MB. Additionally, there are some audio formats that are not supported for upload. These unsupported formats include WMA, OGG, MIDI, RTTTL, and RTX (2). Supported formats include MP3, AAC, WAV, and FLAC.
So in summary, the key limits to be aware of are:
- 50,000 track limit for uploaded songs
- 300 MB filesize limit per track
- No support for WMA, OGG, MIDI, RTTTL, and RTX formats
Listening to Uploaded Music
You can access the music you’ve uploaded to YouTube Music in the Library tab of the mobile app or on the web. Your uploaded music will be grouped under the Uploads section. You can then filter your library by uploaded Playlists, Artists, Albums, and Songs.
You can either choose to stream the songs directly from YouTube Music or download them to your device for offline listening. According to Google Support, you can play uploaded songs in the background, ad-free and offline even if you don’t have a YouTube Music Premium subscription. However, Android Police notes that casting capabilities are limited.
So in summary – you can access and play back your uploaded music through YouTube Music either by streaming online or downloading for offline playback. Premium features like background/ad-free listening are available for uploads.
Conclusion
Google Play makes it easy to upload your music library through multiple methods so you can access your personal collection across all your devices. The Google Play Music Manager desktop app allows batch uploading for large libraries. Uploading through the web browser is simple for smaller collections. Android and iOS devices also permit directly transferring music files, though iOS files must initially be saved in the Music app folder. No matter your preferred method, you can upload up to 50,000 songs for free to listen anywhere.
Google Play’s Smart Playlists help manage the organization and sorting as your library grows. For libraries over 50,000, you may want to prune older or lesser played content. Downloading for offline listening also takes up device storage. Optimizing file types to lossless FLAC or high bitrate MP3 when available will give good sound quality with smaller filesize.