youtube music – Page 2

YouTube Music in Canada will soon get a lot better for free users with changes coming in November. However, not everything is changing for the better — according to a Google support page, free YouTube Music users will no longer be able to watch music videos in YouTube Music.

The information comes from an ‘Ask Me Anything’ (AMA) posted by the YouTube Team in the YouTube Music help forum (spotted by Android Police). The post outlines some changes coming to YouTube Music starting November 3rd. The changes come alongside the previously announced change that will finally let free users listen to music in the background or with the screen off.

The listed changes are as follows:

Those who listen to music free with ads will now be able to

listen to music in the background
shuffle play personalized mixes (that are made just for you!)
find the perfect mood mixes for activities like workout, commute and more
explore millions of songs & thousands of playlists, free of cost

Those who pay for a YouTube Premium subscription will be able to enjoy additional exclusive benefits, like the ability to

listen to songs on-demand
watch videos on YouTube Music [emphasis ours]
skip tracks an unlimited number of times
enjoy YouTube Music without ads

As Android Police points out, YouTube Music users can currently watch music videos in the ‘Home’ and ‘Explore’ feeds of YouTube Music, whether or not they subscribe to the service. The ability to seamlessly switch between audio and video playback is a feature reserved for Premium subscribers. However, it seems this is set to change for Canadian users on November 3rd ahead of a wider rollout (although the timeline isn’t clear yet).

Back when I was a regular YouTube Music user, I rarely used the video features. However, some people really like being able to access a full catalogue of music alongside music videos, remixes and other content from YouTube. It’s also a major selling point for YouTube Music. Overall, it seems like removing the feature for free users could be a significant blow to the service. That said, if I had to pick between watching videos or background audio playback, I know which I’d choose.

Source: Google Via: Android Police

Google’s YouTube Music streaming platform tends to receive vitriol from users, usually for good reason.

As the replacement for the much-loved Google Play Music, YouTube Music arrived with a lengthy list of features that should have been available but weren’t. For example, the ability to cast music using the YouTube Music website.

According to Reddit posts spotted by 9to5Google, that’s finally changing. The Redditors said the ‘music.youtube.com’ web app shows a Cast button next to the user’s profile picture in the top-right corner.

Unfortunately, that handy addition hasn’t rolled out to everyone yet. Hopefully, we’re seeing the start of a wider roll-out, but it could take some time if Google’s still testing the feature.

Either way, Cast support is on its way. That alone is a significant improvement, but Google also recently announced an incoming YouTube Music update that would finally let free users close the app and continue listening. That feature isn’t coming until November, however.

Ultimately, it looks like Google is putting in some work to improve YouTube Music — hopefully, it becomes a better alternative to other streaming music apps.

Screenshot crefit: Reddit user ‘u/meatwaddancin.’

Source: Reddit Via: 9to5Google