Paid Subscriptions ‘background’ Music
If you pay for a Google Play Music subscriptionto get ad-free streaming, the company will move the account to YouTube Music once you transfer your files. Youll get access to YouTube Music Premium or YouTube Premium , depending on how much youre currently paying. For people in the U.S. and most of the world, prices wont change for now.
For those who use just the free ad-supported tier of Google Play Music, theres some good news and some bad news.
The good news is that YouTube Music will let you listen to files you purchased or uploaded in the background without the app open on your screen. That means Ill still be able to scroll through Twitter while I listen to my various unreleased Tom Waits live recordings without paying for a subscription.
The bad news is that if a free user wants to listen to anything else, it can’t play in the background. YouTube Music comes with a library of 50 million tracks, and free users can listen with ads. But if you aren’t a paid subscriber, you cant listen if you lock your phone screen or switch over to another app. That’s an annoying drawback Google Play Music didn’t have.
That means YouTube Music is still the best game in town for people who want access to their own collection of songs on the go. But for those who want the exhaustive collection of music that comes with most streaming services, there are better free options to consider.
Set Your Itunes Library Free
Google Play helps you bring your iTunes library to your Android devices. You can upload up to 50,000 of your songs from your computer to Google Play for free. Once youâve uploaded your music, it’s instantly available on the web and your Android phone or tablet. No wires, downloading or syncing.
Best Gear For Your Music Listening
No matter which app youre using, your music will sound better on great equipment. Here are a few of the best headphones and speakers from CRs ratings.
Editor’s Note: This article, originally published on May 23, 2020, has been updated with the latest news from Google and instructions for downloading a copy of your music.
Thomas Germain
I want to live in a world where consumers take advantage of technology, not the other way around. Access to reliable information is the way to make that happen, and that’s why I spend my time chasing it down. When I’m off the clock, you can find me working my way through an ever-growing list of podcasts. Got a tip? Drop me an email or follow me on Twitter for my contact info on Signal.
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Why Is Google Play Music No Longer Available App Replaced With Another Streaming Service
If youve got a Google Play account, then you may have noticed that the Music Store seems to have disappeared but why?
Google Play, formerly Android Market, was launched in 2008 as the official App Store for Android phones and devices. It offers different digital services like books, apps, games, movies and until recently music.
The Music Store is no longer available on Google Play, but where has it gone?
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Why Is Google Play Music No Longer Available

If an android user heads to Google Play Music right now, they wont be able to play any music. The screen will say, Google Play music is no longer available. It will also say that a user can still transfer their library, including playlists and uploads, for a limited time. The android user will also be presented with two options, one is to Transfer to Youtube Music, and the other, Manage your data’. Although the move to stop Google Play Music was rolled out relatively show, but it is definitely not just a test, as Google is set to shut down its former service entirely any day now. The reason for this was not revealed in the report on 9to5google and has not been revealed by Google yet as well.
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Access Your Music On The Web And Your Android Phone
Now that you’ve set up your Google Play music library, you can access it on your Android phone or tablet and the web. Sign in and all your music is just there, like magic. And when you upgrade to the latest Android device, your music comes along too. You’ll never be without your favorite artists again.
Technology Company Google Has Shut Down Its ‘google Play Music’ Service On All Android Phones Read On To Find Out Why Is Google Play Music No Longer Available
A recent report on 9to5google suggests that Google Play Music is all set to be shut down and its users will have to switch either to YouTube Music or to another provider entirely. Many android users might have noticed that parts of Play Music have been closing for a few weeks, and Google Assistant speakers are also losing support. Assistant speakers such as Googles Nest Mini and Audio have been able to stream ones favourite tunes from Play music and other services with just a voice command. But recently YouTube music was also added to the list. Read on to find out why Google Play music is no longer available.
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You Can Transfer Your Library From Google Play Music To Youtube Music
If youre worried about losing all of your music then dont be, because Google have made it really easy to transfer your library across.
When you visit the Play Music website, you are greeted with a message that tells you the Music Store on Google Play is no longer available.
It then explains that you can transfer over your whole library at music.youtube.com/transfer.
Reminder make sure you transfer your audio library and playlists to it takes just 3 simple steps. Your new home for music is here
How To Transfer From Google Play Music
Google has sent out emails and notifications encouraging users to move their files to the new service. Those prompts come with a transfer button to get the process started, but you can also do it on your own. Here’s how.
First, make sure youve set up an account with YouTube Music and that you have the latest version of both apps. Then follow these steps.
The time it takes to transfer your files may vary depending on the size of your library. When I did it, the process was done in about an hour. Youll get a notification when the transfer is complete, and then you can access your files from the Library tab in the YouTube Music app.
That will move over your songs, playlists, and recommendations. But youll need to take separate steps if youve been using Google Play Music for podcasts. YouTube Music doesn’t support podcast subscriptions the company is encouraging users to adopt the Google Podcasts app instead.
If youve been using Google Play Music for podcasts, the company makes it easy to transfer your downloads, subscriptions, and other data to the Google Podcasts app. Start the podcast transfer using the button on this dedicated page.
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I Purchased Songs On Google Play Music How Do You Purchase Songs On Youtube Music
I purchased songs on Google play music. How do you purchase songs on YouTube music?
You don’t. Google is out of the purchased music business.
You can buy them from Amazon or anyplace else that sells DRM-free music, however, and upload them to YTM.
You can’t. YTM is for streaming, like all the other streaming services.
I suggest buying music from example Bandcamp or directly from the artist’s site to really support them.
whats bandcamp and whys it so great? ive literally never heard of it before
You can still go to the app store and buy music.
Google is removing the play music store.
Does this mean the music that I purchased is forever gone?
I was able to download the purchased music on youtube music you have to download by album though
You have to go to the library tab and then click on albums And then you’re able to download the albums. And then when you’re offline a notification will ask go to downloads
How To Download Your Songs
After a few months using YouTube Music, I felt like the app wasn’t designed to focus on streaming your own collection of music. It takes a couple of extra clicks to get to your files, though once you arrive at your library the app works just about as well as Google Play Music did.
For those who aren’t happy with the changes, you can save your files without moving to YouTube Music. There’s no comparable, easy-to-use alternative to stream your own collection of music, from Google or anyone else. But you can liberate the files you’ve uploaded if you want to listen from a hard drive at home, or maybe load them on an MP3 player.
Google has a service called Takeout that lets you download a copy of the data you have stored in the company’s various services.
To download all of your Google Play Music data, including your purchases and songs you’ve uploaded, head to .
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Clear Cache From Settings
Step 1: Open Settings on your phone and go to Apps & notifications or Apps.
Step 2: Under All apps, tap on Google Play Music.
Step 3: Tap on Storage followed by Clear cache. Restart the phone and check if you can see the songs. If they arent available, tap on Clear data or storage.
Note: Clearing cache or data will not delete your songs from the Play Music app.
Google Play Music Has Been Discontinued

Google actually announced a really long time ago that the Google Play Music Store would be disappearing in the near future, and back in August they finally put a date on it, confirming that it would be discontinued in September 2020.
They began to roll it out gradually, first discontinuing Google Play Music in New Zealand and South Africa before the rest of the world followed in October.
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Google Play has now officially stopped its music services around the world, and by the end of the year the app will no longer be accessible but why?
Only finding out now that Google Play Music no longer exists
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What Happens To My Google Play Music Library When I Unsubscribe
I’m currently shopping for a music streaming service because I’m currently unsatisfied with Spotify, my current service of choice.
Lured in by the three month free trial, I’m enjoying Google Play Music for a series of reasons, but now that I finally moved my library of music from Spotify to GPM, I’m curious about what will happen if I ever decide to unsubscribe.
Will GPM delete all the songs I added? Or, should I ever want to renew my subscription, will I find them all where I “left” them? I know I won’t be able to play the songs while on the free level, obviously, but what I’m wondering is if Google will keep all the songs and albums I added, tied to my Google account or, what I’m afraid of, deletes everything forcing me to readd everything once I decide to pay again?
Google Play Music Is Now Officially Dead Dead Dead
We’ve known for more than a year that Google Play Music’s days were numbered. Its death had even been officially announced, but it’s now really, really real. Google sunset the GPM app on Android and the web at the end of October, providing the knock-out blow to what has been a rathershortmatch and now it looks like the funeral procession has finally finished its march.
Open the Android app now and you’ll likely be greeted by a white splash screen with a Play Music logo that morphs into a YouTube Music one. Bold text tells you GPM is no longer available and explains that you can transfer your whole library to YTM. Two buttons are provided below that, one to kickstart the transfer process and another to manage your data. The latter takes you to the GPM site where you can download and delete your full library, and delete your recommendation history. Once you’re done, the app’s widget should disappear by itself from your home screen if you had added it there.
It’s a clinical, irreversible death. While it didn’t affect everyone right away , GPM appears to be dead for everyone now. Those of you wondering whether manually changing your phone’s date would undo that final blow, let me save you some time: I tried, and it didn’t work.
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The web client at is gone too. It just offers the same options we saw above.
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The Mp3 Store Shut Down On Android
Another report on 9to5google revealed that starting in late August, the purchase or pre-order of music from the Play Store was also stopped. Hence, baby steps were being taken to eventually dismantle Google Play Music from some time now. The Music Manager desktop app for bulk uploads and downloads was also stopped in August. In 2019, the MP3 store was hidden away in Google Plays side navigation drawer on Android instead of getting featured in the bottom bar.
Googles decision of getting rid of the ability to buy and download songs will leave streaming as the dominant model of playing music. Mobile phone users who still wish to own the audio files can use iTunes and Amazon. In fact, YouTube Musics cloud locker launched in February 2020 supports user uploads and download via the web as well.
Google Play Music Is Shutting Down Here’s How To Save Your Tunes
With just a few steps you can transfer files and podcasts
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Fans of the streaming service Google Play Music may soon want to hold a moment of silence. Google has announced that the app will be shut down and replaced by the YouTube Music app, which has been available for a few years.
If youre a Google Play Music user, it’s easy to move your files, playlists, and other data to the new service, and maintain your paid subscription if you have one. You can also download your files if you want to take them elsewhere. But in any case, you need take action soon.
Users will lose access to Google Play Music permanently “between October and the end of this year,” according to an email sent to subscribers. Right now you can still use both services, and Google promises to notify users before the app shuts down for good.
Google Play Music never had the success of competitors like Apple Music or Spotify. But Ive been part of a relatively small but loyal group of users for a long time because the app has a feature that most others dont.
Google Play Music lets you upload up to 50,000 of your own files to the companys servers and listen to them from the cloud.
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Google Play Ending Its Music Service What Happens Next
A few days ago, Google announced it would be rolling out a new, simple way for users of its Play Music offering to transfer files over to YouTube Music, the culmination of a nearly two-year effort to streamline its music service.
Those who havent been paying attention might have been caught off guard with this announcement.
Google Play Music has been a very easy way to upload CDs and purchased music from other platforms into a single cloud, accessible anywhere. For those of us who still buy CDs, this has been a best of both worlds scenario: your CDs, converted to digital music with ease, without having to purchase songs or whole albums twice.
Ok. So what does all this mean?
YouTube Music will be your only streaming music option from the company later this year when Google Play Music is fully shut down, The Vergeexplains. Google isnt specifying exactly when that will occur, but it says customers will receive plenty of warning ahead of time. Theres a lot of hand-holding going on here, with Google saying we know it will take time to get used to, and were here for you in a new video about the change.
This will be a phased-in approach, so if theres nothing different about a users Google Play Music experience at this time, just wait. Itll happen.
If youre a devotee of Googles service, its fair and reasonable to be concerned.
But, again, beware.