Every bit the Play Music library migration tool rolls out more widely in the past week, more and more people are discovering the limitations and pitfalls of uploaded songs on YouTube Music. While some are obvious—like YouTube Music sequestering abroad uploaded songs in an entirely separate expanse—at that place are others you may merely encounter with time. While the feature has been live for months now, many people are only encountering YouTube Music's uploaded library feature in the past few days, and what y'all find may non exactly thrill y'all. Hither's everything you need to know nearly the drawbacks (and, occasionally, benefits) of YouTube Music's cloud music storage feature.

Library management

Uploading

Google Play Music and YouTube Music both let you upload music by dragging and dropping files and folders onto their web interfaces. Play Music used to have a desktop helper and a Chrome app that looked for new audio files in a specified folder and uploaded these automatically, simply the service has been feeling rather broken over the terminal few years for many people. Nosotros asked Google whether information technology would come for YouTube Music and were told that the developers "currently don't take any plans" to back up it — don't hold your jiff.

Information technology's probable that neither the Chrome app nor the desktop upload helper will come to YouTube Music.

Before you upload your files, you should also make sure they're in a supported format: FLAC, M4A, MP3, OGG, or WMA. Google Play Music, in dissimilarity, additionally supports M4Ps — DRM-protected AAC files. If YouTube Music runs into any problems during the upload process, it volition send yous an email stating every bit much, which I've never seen GPM do. It includes a list of all files that haven't been added to it, and then yous can try uploading those once again.

In contrast to Google Play Music, YouTube Music uploads are a one-way street. Once you've imported files, at that place'south no way to download them through the website or the app. You'll take to use Google Takeout to do that. Google Play Music lets you download your files right through its website, though there'southward a limit of ii downloads per title when you don't use the Play Music web app (which seems rather broken/deprecated).

Google Play Music has a pesky limit of ten agile devices that doesn't only include your mobile devices but also whatsoever desktop computer you've ever used for uploads and unlimited downloads of music. The corresponding settings page says, "Uploading or downloading music using Music Director or Google Play Music for Chrome counts towards your device limit." While the same limit applies to YouTube Music, information technology'southward non clear if instances like tertiary party desktop players count against your total number of devices.

On Play Music, you tin upload a maximum of fifty,000 songs, though this has been raised to 100,000 for some people. YT Music ups this limit to 100,000 for anybody.

Access

If you're a premium subscriber, titles uploaded to Google Play Music bear merely like those available for streaming — when you search for an artist or an anthology, your ain files will popular up correct betwixt results from Google's library. If you upload music already available on the platform, Google will endeavor its all-time to match them to avoid showing duplicates (which information technology's arguably not also good at).

Left: Search. Middle & Correct: Library.

With YouTube Music, the situation is different. Uploaded music gets its own department in the app that's sealed off from audio bachelor through the streaming service. When you lot search for music, yous'll see two tabs: YT Music and Uploads. If you have a huge library of titles non available on the streaming service, you might find yourself swiping between these tabs constantly to find the music you're searching for.

This theme of separation continues in theLibrarydepartment. Whether you caput to Songs, albums, or artists,you'll see the tabbed interface that segregates your uploads from the streaming service's titles yous've added to your library. The only places where your files can live aslope YT Music's are the queue and playlists, including the automatic Liked songs collection.

Ultimately, this access comparison comes downward to preference: Once you're enlightened of the differences, you could even stop upwardly liking the new system more than than Google Play Music's.

Free plan

You tin can nonetheless add your own files to both services even if you're not subscribed to Google's music streaming plan. On Play Music, you only have admission to uploads. You can also play music from Google'due south library, but you're express to starting mixes — yous tin can't choose specific songs. YouTube Music, on the other hand, lets you choose which songs to play as long equally the app is active and your display turned on. You'll also run into ads when you listen to music other than your own.

Metadata

Google Play Music lets you edit your files' metadata later uploading, assuasive you to correct a misspelled title or translate. The feature is not supported past YouTube Music, and nosotros don't know if it'due south planned at all. Information technology would be a nice addition, just don't hold your breath.

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Google Abode

Play Music lets you play your uploaded files on Google Home just like whatever other song, by saying "Hey Google, play [desired championship]." In contrast to music bachelor via the streaming service, uploaded songs won't be followed by an automatic mix of similar titles, but those are about all the disadvantages there are.

YouTube Music, on the other hand, doesn't let you admission your uploaded files via a Google Domicile vocalization control at all. Instead, information technology will play the video version if available. The same happens when y'all attempt to play music through the Assistant on your phone. You lot might non notice that most of the time, but some music videos include longer non-music audio snippets, like Michael Jackson's Thriller. You'll need to use the YouTube Music app'south casting capabilities to play your own songs.

Android Auto

Left & Middle: YouTube Music on Android Auto. Correct: Google Play Music.

On Android Auto, you tin can access your uploads just similar you would in the app or on the website: Choose a category like Albums and so head to Uploads.At that place, you'll see everything you've added to YT Music. That's nonetheless better than Google Play Music — its Android Auto interface simply gives you access toMusic for Drivingplaylists,Recent activity,andplaylists.Yous tin can play other songs past asking the Assistant for the championship, merely there's no visual way around your library.

Alarms

Left: Subscription necessary for alarms. Correct: No results for my uploaded Rammstein album.

To use YouTube Music content for your alarms, you need to subscribe to the service's premium programme. Even when you practise that, yous can't employ your own files for alarms at the moment — searching for my uploaded Rammstein album didn't render whatever results. We don't know if this feature volition come afterwards. Meanwhile, Play Music doesn't back up Android's warning app at all, and so it'due south something.

With about people using streaming services over building their own collection these days, information technology's not surprising that YouTube Music doesn't feature total-fledged uploading support. Information technology would have been nice to see it, only the number of people using them probably doesn't justify the development work that would need to exist put behind it. Afterwards all, Spotify has never supported information technology and is still widely successful. If you want a more Play Music-like experience, you lot could check out Apple Music or Deezer, though the latter but lets yous upload 2,000 songs. Apple Music is on-par with YouTube and allows you to shop 100,000 files of your own. If you only need access to music y'all own, Plex could also be another interesting solution.

Cheers: Jes, Webber, Eduardo, Karl Horky

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Manuel Vonau (1637 Manufactures Published)

Manuel is a tech enthusiast and Android fan based in Berlin. When he'south not writing articles for Android Constabulary, he's probably out and about equally a videographer.

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