Google announced a migration tool for taking your library from Google Play Music library of uploaded songs and getting them onto its new YouTube Music service back in May. Now, it's speedily becoming more than widely available across the globe. It's non immediately intuitive what the tool will and won't preserve, though, and the benefits and drawbacks of taking your cloud music library over to Google's new music streaming platform. In this guide, we'll show you the ins and outs of the tool and everything you demand to know about using it.

Earlier we dive into the process, be warned that it might take a while until library migration is available to you. Since all of your information needs to be copied over, Google is probably fighting with limited server capacities, then it's rolling out the tool in stages based on your location. Y'all should run across a popup or toast in Google Play Music when it arrives on your account, and the company will send you an email.

Using the Android (or iOS) app

To get started with the migration, y'all need to install YouTube Music on your telephone. Make sure it's at least version 3.65. If it'southward non available to you on the Play Store just yet, you tin can get the latest version from APK Mirror.

Left & Middle: Switch banners. Correct: Transfer workflow.

If the tool has rolled out to you, you should meet a message on the app's homescreen, telling you that Play Music is going abroad and that you can start the migration. Tap the "Let's go" push and you're taken to a screen showing you in which club your items will be moved over. If you're a Play Music subscriber, your subscription will besides be rolled over, and the price will remain the same — even if you're grandfathered in on the $vii.99 plan or the family subscription. When you're ready to start, tap "Transfer." A imprint will pop up, telling you lot that the migration is in progress and that you can explore YouTube Music now.

The tool will start import your recommendations and so you can offset listening to personalized mixes on YouTube Music before the full transfer is finished. You can tap a imprint below the elevation bar to see how far your migration has progressed.

You lot can start exploring YTM while the migration is in progress.

You lot'll receive a notification and an e-mail once the transfer is finished, which can take a few minutes or multiple days depending on how many songs you've uploaded. When I made the switch myself, I noticed that a few songs in some former Play Music playlists were still grayed out and unavailable later on getting the notification, but that outcome stock-still itself after a few days.

Using the web app

If you'd rather utilize your computer to kicking off the migration, head to music.youtube.com/transfer. Similar the app, this website shows yous which data it'll transfer in which order. Click the "Transfer" button to get going. You tin can and so explore the YouTube spider web app, and a banner volition let your render to the transfer overview so yous can see your progress — the process is basically the same equally in the Android app.

What if I go on using Play Music afterwards the switch?

If you lot still proceed using Play Music later making the initial switch, don't worry: Y'all can sync your libraries as oftentimes as you want to by clicking or tapping your profile moving picture in the tiptop right corner and heading to settings, where you'll discover an pick to kick off the migration tool again. That can exist washed both on the web and in the Android app.

Where are my uploads and stations?

YouTube Music organizes some things differently from Play Music. Your uploads sit down in a separate section of the app, sealed away from the platform'due south streaming service aspect. When yous browse your library or search results, y'all'll observe that at that place are 2 tabs at the meridian, one for YT Music and one for uploads. It's self-explanatory enough, only yous need to exist aware of it if you tin can't find some of the albums you idea you'd uploaded. We've got a granular comparison of how YouTube Music handles uploads compared to Play Music.

Stations aren't a thing in YouTube Music, and so it converts all of your stations to playlists. Their content is identical — the but difference is that you tin really come across all the individual songs inside a playlist, which you lot couldn't with stations, at least without playing them. YouTube Music also has curated and AI-generated playlists that supplant things similar Play Music's New Release Radio or the Feeling Lucky station.

I'm missing some songs. What'due south up with that?

All of your uploads and purchases volition exist transferred, simply since YouTube Music has unlike licensing deals than Play Music, you might not notice the same selection of songs as bachelor on Play Music's streaming service. Google says these cases should exist few and far betwixt, and some songs that have disappeared from your Play Music library due to rights or licensing might even reappear in YouTube Music eventually.

Can I brand the switch if I'm a free user?

Yep. YouTube Music lets y'all play your uploaded songs in the background, and yous can download them. Casting adequacy is limited, though — as far as I can tell, you tin can't ask an Assistant-equipped speaker to play uploaded songs, so you demand to cast your music via the Android app.

In contrast to Play Music, you lot can as well access the streaming service of the platform for gratis, but you lot'll have to suffer ads, and you lot need to leave your phone'due south screen turned on and the YouTube Music app in the foreground while you listen. The background limitation doesn't apply to the web app, though.

I already use YouTube Music. Will my library be overwritten?

That'due south the situation I found myself in, and every bit far as I can tell, no data got lost when I made the switch. Instead, your libraries will be combined intelligently. I uploaded a few albums to YouTube Music already in my Play Music library prior to the migration and at that place were no duplicates. A few identically titled playlists across the two services were retained as separate lists, instead.

What about podcasts?

Some people use Play Music to heed to podcasts, but YouTube Music doesn't support that format. Yous can instead consign your episode progress and subscriptions to Google Podcasts. Once the migration tool has rolled out to yous, you tin head to podcasts.google.com/transfer to kicking off the separate transfer.

The podcast player is bachelor on your Android phone as part of the Google app (simply search for a podcast yous're interested in), but yous can likewise become a dedicated launcher icon from the Play Store if y'all prefer. There's also a spider web interface.

While some people might wish to have more granular command over which songs and playlists to transfer, the tool is as straightforward and easy to use as information technology can get, which was Google'due south goal. The YouTube Music team knows that there are still some significant differences betwixt the two services, then information technology wanted to make the transition equally smooth and painless as possible.

If yous're interested in how such a switch pans out for someone who has used Play Music e'er since it became available, check out my editorial on my feel with YouTube Music (written before the migration tool rolled out).

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About The Author

Manuel Vonau (1639 Articles Published)

Manuel is a tech enthusiast and Android fan based in Berlin. When he's not writing manufactures for Android Police, he's probably out and about every bit a videographer.

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