Why Google music is no longer available?
Google Play Music was a music and podcast streaming service and online music locker operated by Google. The service launched in November 2011, allowing users to upload up to 50,000 songs from their personal libraries and stream them across Internet-connected devices. Google Play Music offered curated playlists and radio stations based on user listening history, as well as integration with YouTube Music for music video streaming.
At its peak popularity in 2018, Google Play Music had an estimated 3-5 million paying subscribers globally, according to Statista. It was one of the top music apps on the Google Play store, though still significantly smaller than leading services like Spotify and Apple Music which had over 60 million subscribers each.
Shut Down Announcement
In August 2020, Google announced they would be shutting down Google Play Music. According to Google Play Music – Wikipedia, the service would gradually lose access starting in September 2020, with a complete shutdown for all users by December.
The announcement was met with mixed reactions from users. While some welcomed the transition to YouTube Music, others were disappointed to lose Google Play Music’s unique features like song matching and the ability to store up to 50,000 songs for free. There were concerns about losing playlists and libraries built up over years of using Google Play Music according to this article from The Verge.
Google encouraged users to transfer their libraries and playlists to YouTube Music, their alternative streaming service. However, YouTube Music was criticized for not yet matching all of Google Play Music’s capabilities at the time of shutdown.
Transition to YouTube Music
In May 2018, Google announced that it would be shutting down Google Play Music and transitioning users to YouTube Music by December 2020 (source). The transition officially began in October 2020 in New Zealand and South Africa before rolling out worldwide. Google gave users time to transfer their libraries and personal taste preferences to the new YouTube Music platform.
There were some key differences between Google Play Music and YouTube Music that impacted the user experience. Google Play Music allowed uploads of up to 50,000 songs while YouTube Music only allowed uploads of up to 5,000 songs initially (source). YouTube Music also lacked some features of Google Play Music like a native desktop player and podcast support. Overall, user reception to the transition was mixed. Some appreciated the integration with YouTube’s massive catalog of music videos and songs. Others were frustrated by missing features and more limited music libraries.
Problems With Google Play Music
Google Play Music had a number of issues over the years that led to its decline. Many users complained about the lack of new features and updates to the service. As reported by Ars Technica, “Google Play Music felt stagnant for years” (https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/10/rip-google-play-music-2011-2020/). There was a perception that Google was neglecting Play Music in favor of focusing on YouTube Music.
On Reddit threads, users lamented the lack of investment and innovation in Google Play Music (https://www.reddit.com/r/google/comments/mhlyhm/it_pains_me_how_much_i_miss_google_play_music/). The interface and user experience remained stagnant for years without major improvements. This caused many loyal users to become increasingly frustrated with the product.
The lack of communication from Google about plans for the service also drew criticism. Overall, Google Play Music felt outdated and neglected compared to streaming competitors like Spotify and Apple Music which were continuously innovating and improving their offerings.
YouTube Music Benefits for Google
The transition from Google Play Music to YouTube Music offered several key benefits for Google as a company (Google Support). Most notably, it allowed Google to unify its music brand and platform under YouTube, which already had massive popularity and user reach. Consolidating music services under the YouTube banner gave Google a unified brand in the music streaming space to better compete with services like Spotify and Apple Music.
Additionally, moving users to YouTube Music opened up new revenue opportunities for Google. YouTube Music utilizes the same ad-based model as regular YouTube, allowing Google to monetize music listeners through audio and video ads. YouTube Music Premium subscriptions also provide direct revenue, just like Google Play Music subscriptions did. However, YouTube Music has the potential for higher revenues given YouTube’s larger user base.
Finally, migrating Google Play Music users over to YouTube Music allowed Google to consolidate user data and preferences in one place. This gives Google richer data on users’ musical tastes and listening habits, which can be used to improve recommendations and targeted advertising. With a unified music platform, Google can gain a better understanding of its users across both music and video.
Loss of Unique Features
One of the biggest complaints about the transition from Google Play Music to YouTube Music was the loss of certain unique features that were not carried over to the new platform. Three notable losses highlighted by users were the upload locker, podcast support, and tools for personal library management.
The upload locker in Google Play Music allowed users to upload up to 50,000 of their own songs to the cloud and stream them alongside content offered by Google. This gave users a way to listen to more obscure tracks not available through the streaming catalog. However, YouTube Music currently lacks an equivalent feature for uploading personal collections (Android Police).
Google Play Music also integrated podcast listening into the app, allowing users to easily switch between music and podcasts. YouTube Music has no native podcast support, requiring users to turn to separate apps for podcast listening (Google Support).
Finally, Google Play Music offered robust library management tools for organizing, editing, and curating personal collections. YouTube Music’s library management functionality is more barebones, frustrating users who want more precise control (Reddit).
While YouTube Music aims to leverage Google’s strengths in video streaming, the lack of these key features from Play Music has been a major limitation for many users with personal music libraries.
Impact on Users’ Libraries
The shutdown of Google Play Music had a major impact on users’ music libraries and collections. When Google announced the transition to YouTube Music in 2020, it provided users tools to transfer their Google Play Music libraries over to YouTube Music.
However, many users reported issues with incomplete transfers and missing metadata. According to The Verge article, users complained about “missing album artwork, incorrect matchings, or certain songs not transferring over at all.” This resulted in music collections being fragmented across the two services.
The loss of metadata was particularly problematic. Playlists, ratings, play counts and other data failed to transfer properly in some cases. As noted by CNet article, this metadata helped shape users’ libraries and made them unique. Losing this data disrupted users’ ability to organize and enjoy their collections on YouTube Music the same way they did in Google Play Music.
For users with large Google Play Music libraries built up over many years, the incomplete transfers and loss of metadata was incredibly frustrating. The shutdown left many feeling like their music collections were now fragmented and disorganized compared to how they had curated them in Google Play Music.
Alternatives for Users
With Google Play Music shutting down, many users are looking for alternative music streaming platforms. Some of the top alternatives include:
Spotify
Spotify (www.spotify.com) is one of the most popular music streaming services. It has a large song catalog and playlists tailored to each user’s taste. Pros of Spotify include its free ad-supported tier, collaborative playlists, and integration with multiple devices. Cons are that the free tier has audio ads and limited skips.
Apple Music
Apple Music (www.apple.com/apple-music/) is seamlessly integrated into Apple devices. Pros are exclusive content, artist radio stations, and spatial audio support. Cons are that it does not have a free ad-supported tier and lacks social features.
Amazon Music
Amazon Music (music.amazon.com/) comes bundled with an Amazon Prime membership. It has tens of millions of songs available. Pros are it works with Alexa and Prime members get unlimited streaming. Cons are a more limited mobile app experience compared to competitors.
While no service is an exact replacement, there are several strong alternatives for Google Play Music listeners to consider based on their specific needs and preferences.
The Future of Google’s Music Strategy
With the shutdown of Google Play Music, Google is betting big on YouTube Music as its main music service going forward. This aligns with Google’s broader strategy of integrating its products and leveraging YouTube’s massive user base.
In the future, we may see YouTube Music integrate further with other Google services. For example, tighter integration with Google Assistant could allow users to more easily request songs, albums, playlists, etc. using just their voice. There could also be deeper ties with Android, Chromecast, and Google Nest devices to enable music playback across platforms.
YouTube Music will likely aim to incorporate new features to better compete with Spotify, Apple Music and others. Some possibilities include improvements to music discovery and recommendations, more robust playlists and radio stations, and new social features that tap into YouTube’s community. Enhanced support for uploading personal music libraries may also help attract former Google Play Music users.
According to a recent Variety article, YouTube Music has over 20 million paid subscribers as of May 2020, but still lags behind Spotify and Apple Music. With Google Play Music shutting down, YouTube Music will need to aggressively grow its user base to be viewed as a top-tier streaming service.
Conclusion
In summary, Google Play Music was shutdown primarily so Google could consolidate its music streaming services under the YouTube brand. While YouTube Music retains much of the core functionality of Google Play Music, the shutdown means the loss of several unique features that appealed to loyal Google Play Music users. The shutdown leaves many users frustrated, as their purchased music and uploaded libraries require migration to new platforms. However, with Google’s focus now squarely on YouTube Music, it plans to continue improving the service to be more competitive against offerings from Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. For users, the outlook is mixed. While migrating libraries is a headache in the short term, YouTube Music aims to become the ultimate one-stop shop for both streaming and user-owned music. Only time will tell if Google can fulfill that vision and retain loyal users through this transition.