How do I download YouTube Music to my Android?

YouTube Music is a streaming music service developed by YouTube that allows users to listen to music and podcasts on demand. It offers both a free, ad-supported tier as well as YouTube Music Premium, which provides ad-free listening, offline downloads, and background playback for $9.99 per month.

One of the key features of YouTube Music Premium is the ability to download music for offline listening when you don’t have an internet connection. This allows you to listen to your favorite albums, playlists, and podcasts without using mobile data or relying on a WiFi connection. Downloaded content can also be accessed when traveling abroad where you may not have cellular service or want to avoid roaming charges.

YouTube Music offers different options for downloading content to listen offline on your Android device. You can download entire albums and playlists to take with you, or select individual songs to save for offline access later.

Requirements

To download YouTube Music on an Android device, there are a couple key requirements:

YouTube Music Subscription

You’ll need an active YouTube Music Premium subscription, which starts at $9.99 per month. The free, ad-supported version of YouTube Music does not allow downloads. Only paid Premium members can download music for offline listening.

Android Device Storage

Make sure your Android phone or tablet has enough available storage space for the songs, albums or playlists you want to download. Music files can quickly consume storage, especially for high-quality audio. So you’ll want at least a few gigabytes free on your device before downloading your music library.

Downloading albums and playlists

To download an entire album or playlist from YouTube Music on your Android device:

1. Open the YouTube Music app on your Android device.
2. Navigate to an album or playlist you want to download by searching or browsing.
3. Tap the download button (downward arrow icon) next to the album or playlist title.
4. Select the download quality – High, Medium, or Low. High quality will use more storage space.

The album or playlist will begin downloading to your device. You can view download progress in the Library tab of the YouTube Music app. Downloaded content is stored locally on your device and can be listened to offline without an internet connection.

According to a Reddit thread, you cannot download full albums from YouTube Music using external apps. The downloads are restricted to the official YouTube Music app.

Downloading individual songs

Downloading individual songs to listen offline on your Android device is easy with YouTube Music.

Simply open the YouTube Music app and search or browse to find the song you want to download. Tap on the song to open it.

On the song page, tap on the 3 dot menu icon next to the title. This opens up a dropdown menu.

From this menu, select the “Add to offline” option. This will start downloading that individual song to your device’s storage.

Once the download is complete, you’ll be able to access and listen to that song offline without an internet connection. The song will be marked with a small offline pin icon in your library to indicate it’s available offline.

Managing downloads

You can view and manage your downloaded YouTube Music content in the Library tab of the app. Open the app and select the ‘Downloads’ section under Library to see a list of everything you’ve downloaded for offline listening.

The Downloads section allows you to delete downloads you no longer want. You can free up storage space by removing downloaded albums, playlists or individual tracks. Simply tap the ‘Delete download’ icon next to an item to remove it.

You can also adjust the download quality of playlists and albums in the Downloads section. Tap the ‘Download quality’ option to choose a higher or lower audio quality as desired. Lower quality uses less storage space while higher quality provides better audio fidelity.

By regularly reviewing and pruning your Downloads, you can efficiently manage your offline YouTube Music content on Android. Delete what you no longer need or adjust quality as your storage space requires.

Listening offline

One of the key benefits of downloading YouTube Music is the ability to listen offline when you don’t have an internet connection. Here’s how it works on Android devices:

First, put your device in airplane mode or disconnect from the internet. This ensures you are completely offline.

Next, open up the YouTube Music app. Your downloaded content will still be accessible even without an internet connection. You can browse and listen to any songs, albums or playlists you previously downloaded for offline listening.

The YouTube Music app detects you are offline and seamlessly switches to provide access to only your downloaded content. This allows you to continue enjoying your favorite music anywhere without using mobile data or needing WiFi.

According to Digital Trends, this offline listening feature provides “the ability to save songs, albums, and playlists for offline listening.” It’s an essential capability for anyone who wants to listen to YouTube Music on the go when they don’t have internet access.

Alternative apps

While YouTube Music is the official Google-owned app for streaming and downloading music and videos from YouTube, there are some alternative apps that provide similar or enhanced functionality:

Musi is one popular alternative app that lets you stream and download audio from YouTube videos. Some key pros of Musi compared to YouTube Music are its simple interface, support for background play, and ability to download videos as MP3s. However, Musi has a more limited music library compared to YouTube Music and lacks some features like personalized recommendations.

Snaptube is another alternative that focuses specifically on downloading YouTube videos and converting them to MP3 audio files. Pros of Snaptube include fast download speeds, ability to download multiple videos in batches, and a built-in audio converter. Downsides are that Snaptube has intrusive ads, lacks a streaming music interface, and may not always download the highest audio quality available.

Overall, while apps like Musi and Snaptube have their benefits, YouTube Music still provides the most robust and official YouTube integration, largest catalog of songs and videos, and premium features like ad-free listening for paid subscribers. However, the alternative apps can be good options depending on specific use cases and preferences around interfaces, downloads, or advanced audio settings.

Downloading restrictions

There are some downloading limits based on your YouTube Music subscription. For non-paying users, there is a limit of 500 songs that can be downloaded at one time across devices. For YouTube Premium subscribers, there is no limit on the number of songs that can be downloaded.

However, downloaded songs will expire after 30 days of offline playback if you do not reconnect to the internet. Songs will need to be refreshed by going back online, in order to maintain offline playback rights.

It’s important to avoid illegally downloading copyrighted content from YouTube. Downloading audio or video files from YouTube to distribute or share without permission constitutes copyright infringement. Always be mindful of copyright laws and creators’ rights when downloading from YouTube.

Troubleshooting tips

If you are having issues downloading music from YouTube Music, there are some troubleshooting steps you can try:

Clear the YouTube Music app cache and data. This can help resolve downloading issues caused by corrupted data. Go to Settings > Apps > YouTube Music > Storage > Clear Cache and Clear Data.

Check your YouTube Music subscription status. Downloads are only available for paid YouTube Music Premium subscribers. Make sure your subscription is active and up-to-date.

Update the YouTube Music app and your Android OS to the latest versions. Outdated apps and operating systems can sometimes cause downloading problems. Install any available updates.

If the issues persist after trying the above steps, you may need to contact YouTube Music support for further troubleshooting assistance.

Downloading YouTube Music: Conclusion & Recap

To summarize how to download YouTube Music to your Android device, the key steps are:

1. Check that you have a YouTube Music Premium subscription, which allows downloads.
2. Open the YouTube Music app on your Android device.
3. Find the album, playlist, or individual song you want to download.
4. Tap the 3 dot menu button next to the album/playlist/song.
5. Select “Download” to download that music to your device.

Downloaded music can then be accessed in the Library tab in the YouTube Music app, even when offline. The downloads are stored locally on your device and can be managed in the Downloads section of the app.

A few additional tips:

• Make sure you have enough free storage space on your Android device for music downloads.
• Connect to WiFi for faster downloads of large albums or playlists.
• Delete downloads you no longer want to free up space.
• Check downloaded content is kept up to date if the creator makes changes.

With YouTube Music Premium, downloading music to listen offline on your Android device is quick and easy. Now you can take your music anywhere!