Why did Google shut down Google Play Music?
Google Play Music was Google’s music and podcast streaming service and online music locker. It launched in November 2011 as an extension of the Android Market (now Google Play), allowing users to purchase music and stream or download it to Android devices. Some key features of Google Play Music included:
– Streaming over 50 million songs from Google’s catalog as well as a user’s own library of uploaded music (Source)
– Ability to upload up to 50,000 songs from a user’s own music collection to the cloud and stream them on any device (Source)
– Smart recommendations and curated playlists based on listening history and preferences
– Downloading music for offline listening and ad-free experience with a subscription
– Integration with YouTube Music and the ability to switch between the two services
Competition from Streaming Services
In the 2010s, on-demand music streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music experienced massive growth. According to IMS Business Report 2023, Spotify dominates the market share but faces increasing competition. As of 2022, Spotify held a 31% global market share of music streaming, while Apple Music had a 15% share. However, in the United States, Spotify’s share was only 24% compared to Apple Music’s 21%.
Launched in 2008, Spotify pioneered the music streaming model based on monthly subscriptions. The service quickly gained popularity in Europe before expanding worldwide. With a huge catalog of over 70 million tracks and advanced personalization features, Spotify appealed to mainstream music listeners. However, the rise of formidable rivals like Apple Music and Amazon Music led to more competition over market share. While Spotify still leads in terms of paid subscriptions, Apple’s tight integration with iOS devices has helped Apple Music grow rapidly.
Major labels like Universal Music Group also renegotiated licensing deals with Spotify to receive a greater revenue share. With growing competition eating into margins, Spotify faced pressure to diversify revenue and control costs. This competitive streaming market was likely a factor in Spotify’s decision to wind down Google Play Music in favor of its own YouTube Music service.
Integration with YouTube Music
In 2015, YouTube launched its own music streaming service called YouTube Music [1] to compete with the likes of Spotify and Apple Music.
According to YouTube’s CEO Susan Wojcicki, YouTube Music was integrated with Google Play Music and intended to be a “reimagination of music listening” [1].The integration allowed features like uploads, playlists and recommendations to be transferred seamlessly between the two platforms.
As YouTube Music gained more users and functionality over the years, Google likely saw an opportunity to consolidate its music services into one service and increase efficiency.
User Base Decline
Google Play Music failed to keep up with the competition in the music streaming industry. According to stats from Statista, in June 2023 Wynk Music had over 170 million downloads from the Google Play store worldwide, while Google Play Music was not even ranked in the top music apps. Another report shows Google Play Music had only about 100,000 daily active users in France in 2023, far less than rivals like Shazam and SoundCloud (Statista). Clearly Google Play Music was losing the battle for users against other streaming apps.
Focus on YouTube Music
A major reason that Google decided to shut down Google Play Music was to focus their resources and efforts on YouTube Music, their new and growing music streaming app and service. The company had two competing music apps, which didn’t make sense strategically.
As reported, Google wanted to focus their efforts on growing the popularity of YouTube Music, which already had some momentum and user traffic. By shutting down Play Music and transitioning users to YouTube Music, it concentrates the music streaming service into one main Google-powered app. The idea is to become a more powerful player in on-demand music streaming by focusing all efforts and resources on YouTube Music.
As Billie Eilish, a popular musician, noted about YouTube and music streaming, “It’s also where most people listen to music. YouTube is where I got big.” So focusing on YouTube Music helps position Google to better compete with top music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music.
Announcement and Transition Plan
In August 2020, Google announced that Google Play Music would be shutting down by December 2020. As announced in a Google support article, members would begin to lose access to the service starting in September, with the shutdown being complete by December.
Google provided users with tools to transfer their Google Play Music libraries and preferences to YouTube Music. This included the ability to transfer playlists, uploads, purchases, likes and dislikes, curated stations, and personal taste preferences. Google also offered YouTube Music at no additional cost to Google Play Music subscribers.
The timeline involved first restricting access to Google Play Music for users in New Zealand and South Africa starting in September 2020. This was followed by other countries until the final shutdown date of December 2020.
User Reaction
Google Play Music users expressed widespread dissatisfaction, dismay, and frustration over the discontinued service. Many subscribers and music libraries owners lamented the loss after having uploaded years worth of content. As one user stated on Reddit, “This is so unexpected. I’m quite sad as I have a huge library on Google Play Music after using it for years” [1]. Backlash was especially pronounced from longtime users who were appalled to have access terminated to content they had invested heavily into. Sentiment typified the feeling that Google was abruptly “dumping” a service that still had an engaged base of supporters.
Impact on Creators
The shutdown of Google Play Music had a direct impact on artists who created content with the platform’s music maker tools. In particular,
Google Play Music offered an environment for amateur and professional musicians to easily create and publish their own music online. Its free, easy-to-use tools like
Music Maker JAM enabled musicians to produce electronic dance music, hip hop beats, or pop songs.
With the transition to YouTube Music, creators lost access to some of these convenient music production capabilities. While YouTube Music focused more on streaming songs, it did not initially replace the creation tools. This disrupted musicians’ creative workflows and limited their ability to collaborate, record original compositions, and share their music. Many had to either transition to other platforms or stop releasing new songs altogether after Google Play Music ended.
Legacy and Influence
Google Play Music left behind a mixed legacy. Many users praised the service for its clean interface, robust music library, and inclusion of free radio and uploads from a user’s personal collection (Google Play Music “legacy” subscriptions inexplicably cancelled). However, over time it struggled to compete with other streaming giants like Spotify and Apple Music in terms of features, personalization, and content discovery.
The transition plan to YouTube Music also proved unpopular with some loyal Google Play Music fans, who felt it was an inferior replacement. Some users reported issues carrying over uploads (Google increases price of Youtube Premium), while others missed key features like a repeat button (YouTube Music for Android update brings an important).
Ultimately though, by consolidating music offerings under YouTube’s umbrella, Google hopes to leverage YouTube’s massive scale and younger user base to create a more competitive streaming option. Only time will tell if YouTube Music can live up to Google Play Music’s early promise and fill the void it left behind for many listeners.
Conclusion
In summary, Google Play Music was shut down primarily due to shifting listening habits and increasing competition from dedicated music streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. As YouTube Music was integrated more tightly with YouTube itself and offered unique features like connecting listeners with video content, Google decided to focus their efforts there rather than splitting resources across two music services.
While Google Play Music had an enthusiastic user base initially, over time many users migrated to other services as streaming became more mainstream. Rather than trying to compete in an increasingly crowded market, Google consolidated their music streaming efforts around YouTube Music, leveraging YouTube’s massive viewer base. This allowed them to maximize efficiency and growth potential in the streaming music space.
The closure of Google Play Music marked the end of an era, but also signaled Google’s commitment to dominating music streaming through YouTube moving forward. For avid Google Play Music fans the transition brought disappointment, but YouTube Music has strived to learn from Google Play Music’s successes and carry forward its legacy.