Skip to main content

How to move your Google Play library over to YouTube Music

YouTube Music will soon replace the Google Play Music streaming service, but you can easily transfer your musical library before the service fades out entirely. 

Google Play Music will end its nine-year reign to fully merge into YouTube Music, which debuted in 2015. 

Recommended Videos

For now, subscribers have access to both services, but to prepare for the transition to YouTube Music later this year, Google laid out steps on how to move music and podcasts over to the new streaming service. 

Google

Here’s how to transfer all your content from Google Play Music to YouTube Music:

  • Download the YouTube Music app for iOS or Android. 
  • Open the app and sign in.
  • You’ll see a “Transfer” button which you click on once and all of your uploads, purchases, added songs and albums, personal and subscribed playlists, likes and dislikes, curated stations, and personal taste preferences will move right over.

Google Play Music subscribers have until later this year before the service switches to YouTube music, but the pricing will be the same: An ad-supported version for free, an ad-free experience for $10 a month, or a premium subscription for $12 a month. 

YouTube Music is also getting some upgrades that Google Play Music users have been asking for, including a larger playlist length at a max of 5,000 songs per playlist, the ability to add up to 100,000 personal tracks to your library, background listening (with the screen locked), and a new explore tab. 

YouTube’s music streaming service also boasts 50 million tracks, albums, and high-quality audio, which is more than Spotify’s 40 million tracks. 

Allison Matyus
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Allison Matyus is a general news reporter at Digital Trends. She covers any and all tech news, including issues around social…
Pokémon Unite tops the list of Google Play’s Best Games of 2021
Pokemon Unite characters.

In its usual end-of-year retrospective, Google has announced the Best of Play winners for 2021, highlighting key apps and games that Google feels made the most positive contributions to the world of mobile over the past year. 
For the first time, Google has also expanded these awards beyond the Android smartphone platform this year to include apps and games on tablets, Wear OS, and Google TV. The awards recognize innovation in app and game development, and in making its selections, Google looks for apps that challenge the norms by “introducing unique gameplay features and giving users never-before-seen experiences.” 

Pokémon Unite took the Best Game of the Year award for 2021, beating out top picks from previous years such as Genshin Impact (2020), Call of Duty: Mobile (2019), and PUBG Mobile (2018). Google cited the dynamic gameplay and cross-platform experience of Pokémon Unite as its key merits, while also giving honorable mentions to independent developers that it says are “creating imaginative and personal gaming experiences.” The runners-up this year were notably both indie developers: George Batchelor for Bird Alone and Annapurna Interactive for Donut County.
Masaaki Hoshino, Producer for Pokémon Unite, thanked Google for the recognition, adding, “All of us who worked on the game are very honored to receive such an award,” particularly as this is Pokémon’s first strategic team battle game. “We tried to distill the best parts of the MOBA genre to create a new kind of game,” Hoshino added, while also candidly admitting that he was “unsure if it would be well received by players around the world.” The Pokémon Unite producer says he’s thrilled to have the affirmation that his team is on the right track and plans to continue improving the game and making it even more exciting. 
Google Play also acknowledged winners in five more specific categories, including Best Competitive, Best Game Changers, Best Indies, Best Pick up & Play, and, for the first time, Best for Tablets. 
Once again, Google also ran its Users’ Choice awards to give Play Store users a chance to weigh in by voting on their most popular picks. This year, the vote for Best Game went to Garena Free Fire MAX. Previous Users’ Choice award winners include SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off (2020), Call of Duty: Mobile (2019), and PUBG Mobile (2018). Although the 2018 and 2019 Users’ Choice matched Google’s own pick for Game of the Year, this is now the second year in which the user vote has gone in a different direction. 
As for apps, Google noted that apps focused on personal growth continued to be in high demand throughout 2021, and its top picks reflected that. 

Read more
Google opens up Play Store payments in South Korea in response to legislation
Google Play Store.

Google is finally letting developers in South Korea implement third-party payment solutions in their apps in response to new legislation. Going forward, users will be able to select between Google Play billing and an alternate option of the developer's choice, the company explained.

The move comes after the South Korean Telecommunications Business Act was amended to keep companies from forcing mandatory use of their own in-app purchases systems. The primary reason the in-app purchasing system has been targeted is that developers have had to pay a mandatory 30% fee, cutting into profitability for small businesses. Google's adaptation will still require developers to show the Play Store billing system, but they'll now be able to use potentially cheaper third parties. Google will share further details and guidelines around implementation in the coming weeks.

Read more
Google drops developer fees in the Play Store to as low as 10%
Google Play Store.

Google today announced new moves to make selling on the Play Store more attractive to developers. Currently, the company charges 30% for all subscription sales, then drops it to 15% after a year. Starting in 2022, developers will now be charged 15% on payments from the first day, while Google also moves to reduce fees for apps registered under the Play Media Experience Program to 10%.

"Digital subscriptions have become one of the fastest-growing models for developers, but we know that subscription businesses face specific challenges in customer acquisition and retention. We’ve worked with our partners in dating, fitness, education and other sectors to understand the nuances of their businesses," Google's Sameer Samat, vice president of product management, explained in an announcement. "Our current service fee drops from 30% to 15% after 12 months of a recurring subscription. But we’ve heard that customer churn makes it challenging for subscription businesses to benefit from that reduced rate. So, we’re simplifying things to ensure they can."

Read more