Google announces YouTube Music and YouTube Premium

guest · Sep 14, 2020

YouTube Music to let free tier users cast uploaded songs to smart speakers
This will go some way to placating former Google Play Music users
September 14, 2020
https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/...-users-cast-uploaded-songs-to-smart-speakers/

After years of playing catch-up with Google Play Music, YouTube Music finally got the ability to let you upload your purchased song library in March. However, that much-requested addition comes with a caveat: You need a premium subscription to cast your songs to smart speakers, which extends even to the ones you uploaded. Some findings by 9to5Google indicate that Google is planning to fix this soon enough.
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guest · Sep 19, 2020

YouTube PiP mode stops working on iOS 14, except for Premium subscribers
September 18, 2020
https://www.slashgear.com/youtube-p...s-14-except-for-premium-subscribers-18638738/

Many consumers have expressed frustration over YouTube’s pushy Premium marketing, which often badgers users with prompts encouraging them to sign up for the service.
The company may have taken things to a new level for iPhone users, though, by seemingly disabling their ability to use the system’s picture-in-picture mode unless they pay for the subscription service. Users are, quite understandably, not happy about this change.

As with the iPad before it, iPhone users get access to picture-in-picture viewing with iOS 14, enabling users to watch a video while doing other things on their phone, such as texting or playing a game. [...] — it is, arguably, a basic feature given how large and high-resolution modern mobile displays are.
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The Verge: YouTube’s website now blocks iOS 14’s picture-in-picture mode unless you pay for Premium

Picture-in-picture still works on iPad for free and paid users, though
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guest · Oct 2, 2020

mood said: ↑

YouTube PiP mode stops working on iOS 14, except for Premium subscribers September 18, 2020
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YouTube Restores iOS 14 Picture in Picture Capability on Mobile Website
October 1, 2020
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/10/02/youtube-picture-in-picture-again/

Tonight, the YouTube website has started allowing iOS 14 devices to use the built-in Picture in Picture functionality for its videos even without a Premium account.

This is an apparent reversal of a change that YouTube explicitly made following the release of ‌iOS 14‌ which blocked such behavior. At that time, YouTube would only allow that capability for users with Premium accounts. Tonight's change means that any YouTube visitor can use Picture in Picture in Safari.

14.0.1 pic.twitter.com/qUaxnT6UdF — MacRumors.com (@MacRumors) October 2, 2020
Since there have been no announcements either way, it's unclear if this change is permanent or not.
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guest · Oct 6, 2020

YouTube Music drops monthly fee for Chromecast support
The bring-your-own-music crowd can now use Google speakers without a monthly fee
October 5, 2020
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/10/youtube-music-opens-up-google-cast-support-for-everyone/

YouTube Music is finally opening up Chromecast support to everyone. Google Play Music is actively winding down this month, leaving YouTube Music as Google's only music app. A major feature gap between the two services that we've been complaining about has been the restrictive Chromecast support.
On Google Music, casting just worked for everyone. On YouTube Music, casting was restricted to people paying for the monthly streaming service.

As of today, though, Google tells us casting on YouTube Music should now work for everyone. Previously, when tapping the "cast" button, unsubscribed users would get a "subscribe to YouTube Premium" pop-up box, but now YouTube Music will starting blasting tunes to our speakers with no monthly fee.
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guest · Oct 6, 2020

mood said: ↑

YouTube Music to let free tier users cast uploaded songs to smart speakers
This will go some way to placating former Google Play Music users
September 14, 2020
https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/...-users-cast-uploaded-songs-to-smart-speakers/
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Updated article (October 6, 2020):

UPDATE: 2020/10/06 2:29AM PDT BY KARANDEEP SINGH
Official
The ability to cast your uploaded tracks to smart speakers is now available for free Youtube Music users.
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guest · Oct 6, 2020

YouTube Premium subscribers get early access to experimental YouTube features
October 6, 2020
https://www.xda-developers.com/youtube-premium-subscribers-early-access-experimental-features/

Going forward, only YouTube Premium subscribers can get early access to experimental YouTube features. Google previously picked users at random to beta test features before rolling them out to a wider audience.
YouTube’s experimental features page has been updated to reflect the change (via AndroidCentral). “For a limited time, Premium members can try out new features that we’re working on,” the page says. “Share your feedback to help us build a better YouTube.”
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YouTube Premium is a monthly subscription that features an ad-free experience, the ability to download videos, background play, and YouTube Music Premium. You can sign up for a one-month free trial, but then it costs $11.99 per month after that.
It’s unclear why Google moved experimental features to YouTube Premium. Perhaps Google is doing it as a way to entice people to sign up for the service.

There are only three experimental features live right now, including the ability to search for videos in Chrome via voice and watch videos on the home screen on iOS 14. These experimental features are available until October 20th, 2020.
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Google previously made YouTube Premium and YouTube Music prepaid plans available in India around this time last year.
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guest · Oct 12, 2020

YouTube Music on Android TV gets library & uploads access, UI tweaks, background play coming
October 12, 2020
https://9to5google.com/2020/10/12/youtube-music-google-tv/

Back in July, YouTube Music came to Android TV via the main YouTube app and a homescreen shortcut. The YouTube Music experience on big screen platforms, including Google TV, is getting an upgrade today that makes it more on par with the web and mobile clients.

Google also touts “updated visuals to showcase album and playlist artwork in their best form, making it easy to find the music you love.” These two features are available for all smart TVs — regardless of OS — that feature a YouTube client.
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Looking forward, YouTube Music for Android TV is adding background play so that audio will continue playing after you exit the app. An overdue addition, this will happen “in the coming months” for paying Premium subscribers.
Additionally, as part of the broader transition, “YouTube Music will soon replace Google Play Music on TVs.” No other details were provided today:

For devices running Android TV OS, YouTube Music will be automatically available on your device.
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Engadget: YouTube Music works better on your TV with new updates

As Google prepares to finally shut down Google Play Music in favor of YouTube Music, the company is making a lot of last-minute updates to make sure the latter service is ready to go. YouTube Music already available on a wide variety of devices, and today Google is tackling the smart TV experience.
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guest · Oct 15, 2020

YouTube Music gets Apple Watch companion app
October 15, 2020
https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/10/15/youtube-music-gets-apple-watch-companion-app

Google on Thursday released a new YouTube Music app for the Apple Watch that will let users control playback on their smartphones from their wrists.

Like other streaming platforms on watchOS, the YouTube Music app is basically a remote for the full app on an iPhone. It allows users to perform basic functionality like control playback and browse their libraries.
It also comes with a complication that Apple Watch users can add to their watch faces, though not all faces support it, and a shortcut that lets users cast a song from a smartphone to a speaker.
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There are some limitations, including the fact that the app doesn't currently support offline playback on the Apple Watch.
Users can download the YouTube Music app here.
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YouTube: YouTube Music is now available on Apple Watch

Over the past few months, we’ve introduced some amazing new integrations for YouTube Music. From voice recommendations through Google Assistant to YouTube Music on smart TVs, we’re bringing your favorite music to wherever you’re listening.

The YouTube Music app for Apple Watch is another way we’re making it easy to listen to exactly what you want, when you want. Whether you’re out for a run, riding your bike or just walking around the house — YouTube Music for Apple Watch puts playback controls within easy reach.
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guest · Dec 2, 2020

YouTube celebrates the holidays by offering free Premium memberships for 3 months
December 1, 2020
https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/...fering-free-premium-memberships-for-3-months/

Google is still giving out a generous 3-month free trial to YouTube Premium for eligible members to celebrate the rest of Cyber Week.

From now until Sunday, December 6, YouTube will let you sign up for a Premium membership that won't start billing you until well into 2021. YouTube says the offer is only valid for members in the US who haven't subscribed to premium services like YouTube Red or Google Play Music before, but go ahead and check out this link to see if the trial is available for you — you never know with Google.
Source: @YouTube
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guest · Dec 11, 2020

Free YouTube Music users are being encouraged to subscribe with new ‘Upgrade’ tab
December 10, 2020
https://9to5google.com/2020/12/10/youtube-music-upgrade-tab/

Those that don’t pay for YouTube Music are either using it for the cloud locker or as a lighter YouTube client just for songs. Free YouTube Music users are now seeing a prominent “Upgrade” tab in the bottom bar.

Without a subscription, YouTube Music will serve the audio version of songs but prefaced by a short video ad. There’s also a higher likelihood that you’ll get the music video version. The app must be open (and device screen turned on) when listening/watching as exiting ends all playback. Users also cannot download tracks for offline access.
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Those free users are now encountering an “Upgrade” tab to the right of “Library,” bringing the bottom bar to four items. This page is entirely focused on encouraging subscriptions and joins an existing message in the profile menu.
The YouTube Music Upgrade tab started rolling out earlier this week and is now widely available.
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Adding an Upgrade Tab to the App ruins it even further!
https://www.reddit.com/r/YoutubeMus...ding_an_upgrade_tab_to_the_app_ruins_it_even/

If Google had delivered feature parity with GPM, as promised, they wouldn't lose so many (paying) users and there would be no need for pop-ups to please subscribe almost every time I open the app. This Upgrade tab would not be needed at all. To me it's a clear signal that they're losing subscribers and are trying to get free users to subscribe.
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ronjor · Mar 10, 2021

YouTube reaches 120 million people watching on TV screens per month

With more people in their living rooms streaming shows and movies during the pandemic, the connected TV space has seen astronomical growth.
Google wants to lean into that growth with YouTube.
YouTube’s chief product officer Neal Mohan will update advertisers on what the platform has seen this past year during a session during the IAB’s annual leadership meeting Wednesday morning.
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ronjor · Apr 12, 2021

Google will shut down Play Movies & TV app on Roku and LG, Samsung, Vizio TVs in June

Ben Schoon - Apr. 12th 2021
On select devices, Google will pull the plug on the Play Movies & TV app on a few key platforms. Specifically, Google will shut the app down on Roku as well as smart TV platforms from LG, Samsung, and Vizio. The app will shut down on June 15, 2021 with Google pushing users to YouTube (and YouTube TV) to access their purchases and buy more movies. The company does note that LG NetCast and LG SimpleSmart devices will lose access to Google’s streaming entirely as of June 15.
Play Movies & TV itself is not shutting down, just the app on these four platforms. The service is set to eventually be replaced by Google TV, though.
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ronjor · Apr 26, 2021

Roku warns customers: “Google may remove your access to YouTube TV“

Ron Amadeo - 4/26/2021
Roku says Google wants changes to Roku search. Google calls the claims "baseless."
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guest · May 7, 2021

YouTube is testing Premium music controls for those who won’t switch to YouTube Music
Only for paying customers, though
May 7, 2021
https://www.androidpolice.com/2021/...s-for-those-who-wont-switch-to-youtube-music/

Even though Google offers a dedicated music application, a good chunk of people still can't shake the habit of catching their favorite tracks on YouTube. Google previously tried to prompt users to switch to YT Music, but it seems like it's tired of doing so as it's testing a new YouTube interface that's meant to improve the music listening experience.

The interface has been spotted on iOS (via 9to5Google), where a "Show listening controls" button pops up for some when watching music videos. Tapping it pulls up a range of controls right below the player, complete with the name of the video in a sizeable font.
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To ensure YT Music doesn't get sidelined because of this new interface, this feature is limited to Premium subscribers who already pay for access to YT Music.
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Surt · May 10, 2021

Can't find a better discussion to post this in. Pretty funny...
https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2021/03/24

Re: #38 above - I'm still able to stream YouTube TV on my Roku Ultra and TCL QLED TV as well as the just implemented access in the YouTube app. Just waiting for the shoe to drop. Might have to go back to fuboTV which I used for two years before I switched to YouTube TV in July 2020. Sigh.

guest · Aug 2, 2021

YouTube Tests Cheaper 'Premium Lite' Subscription for Ad-Free Viewing
August 2, 2021
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/08/02/youtube-premium-lite-subscription-ad-free/

YouTube is piloting a new cheaper subscription tier in Europe called "Premium Lite," which offers ad-free viewing minus YouTube Premium's other features.

First spotted by a user on ResetEra and subsequently confirmed by Google, the "Lite" plan means users who aren't interested in offline downloads or background playback can still enjoy YouTube videos on web and mobile app without being interrupted by ads.
A YouTube spokesperson told The Verge:

"In Nordics and Benelux (except for Iceland), we're testing a new offering to give users even more choice: Premium Lite costs €6.99/month (or local equivalent per month) and it includes ad-free videos on YouTube."
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As The Verge notes, the "Lite" option costs around 60% of the price of a Premium plan but only offers a quarter of the features. However, YouTube says that the subscription plan is still in an experimental phase, and that it could still roll out more plans to gauge user feedback.
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guest · Aug 27, 2021

YouTube enables picture-in-picture on iPhone for premium subscribers
August 25, 2021
https://appleinsider.com/articles/2...-in-picture-on-iphone-for-premium-subscribers

Google on Tuesday rolled out an "experimental" picture-in-picture feature for its iOS YouTube app that allows premium subscribers to view video content while using other apps.

For now, the picture-in-picture mode is limited to YouTube Premium customers and is considered an experimental feature, which means it must be manually activated before use. When enabled, the feature allows users to minimize YouTube's viewing window into a "mini player" that sits atop other apps.
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To take advantage of PiP, subscribers must first visit YouTube.com/new while logged in to their Google Account and navigate to the "Picture-in-picture on iOS" experiment. Selecting "Try it out" activates the option for that account.

9to5Google reported on the feature earlier today.
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YouTube announced plans to roll out a PiP mode for U.S. subscribers of its premium service in July. The company enabled and disabled support for iOS 14's picture-in-picture multiple times in 2020, though today's release suggests a permanent solution is in the works.
The PiP experiment is limited to iPhone and ends on Oct. 31.
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Rasheed187 · Aug 28, 2021

mood said: ↑

YouTube Tests Cheaper 'Premium Lite' Subscription for Ad-Free Viewing
August 2, 2021
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/08/02/youtube-premium-lite-subscription-ad-free/
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I must say that the YouTube ads on my smart-TV are not super annoying. BTW, I did notice that Google has stopped developing the Google Play app for certain smart-TV's so now you can apparently use the YouTube app for renting and buying movies, but the problem is that the app is a joke when it comes to user friendliness. The website seems to be just as bad:

https://www.youtube.com/feed/storefront

EASTER · Aug 28, 2021

Rasheed187 said: ↑

I must say that the YouTube ads on my smart-TV are not super annoying. BTW, I did notice that Google has stopped developing the Google Play app for certain smart-TV's so now you can apparently use the YouTube app for renting and buying movies, but the problem is that the app is a joke when it comes to user friendliness. The website seems to be just as bad:

https://www.youtube.com/feed/storefront
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Well I must say YouTube ADS are the silliest nonsensical (but brief Whew) any tech company could distort themselves with. Totally ignorant lunacy that has no place in a society who purports to pride itself on 21 century advancement and innovation.

guest · Oct 5, 2021

YouTube Music continues glacial development pace, adds background playback
Five years after launch, YouTube Music is still working on basic music app features.
October 5, 2021
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/202...al-development-pace-adds-background-playback/

October marks the first anniversary of the death of Google Play Music, leaving only the sad shadow of a replacement music service, YouTube Music, in Google's ecosystem.

YouTube Music is showing just how far behind the streaming music wars it is with the announcement of a new feature: background music playback. Previously, playing a streaming song on the ad-supported YouTube Music app would only work if you had the app open—navigating to something else on your phone would stop the music. Now, five years after the service's launch and one year after the shutdown of Google Play Music, you can use YouTube Music like—well—a music app without paying for YouTube Premium.
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One last detail: this extremely basic feature is only rolling out to Canada next month. For now, everyone else still can't use YouTube Music like a regular streaming music app without paying for the service. Google says that free background playback will be available to "listeners around the world" at some point, but it hasn't said when.

YouTube says the feature will hit Canada on November 3.
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YouTube: Don’t stop the music!

Introducing a new YouTube Music app listening experience
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guest · Oct 20, 2021

YouTube Music's free tier gains a useful feature only to lose another
YouTube Music is becoming a music-only thing unless you pay up.
October 20, 2021
https://www.androidcentral.com/youtube-music-free-tier-video-limitation

What you need to know

Google is making some notable changes to YouTube Music.

The app will soon no longer allow free users to watch music videos.

This comes after Google announced that the free tier would get background listening.

The changes are expected to occur on November 3.

Click to expand...

Google recently announced a rather useful change coming to YouTube Music, finally allowing users on the free tier to listen to music in the background [...].
However, that new perk comes with another change, one that users may not like as much.

In a YouTube Music support page spotted by 9to5Google, the company says that free-tier users will no longer be able to watch videos with the app. This feature will soon become a Premium-tier perk, essentially swapping features as background listening will no longer require a Premium subscription.
However, this would give free users yet another reason to consider switching to the Premium subscription, with YouTube Music handling all their music needs.
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The update will take place November 3 in Canada first, with other countries to follow at some point.
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guest · Oct 21, 2021

YouTube will be removed from Roku as of December 9, existing users unaffected
October 21, 2021
https://9to5google.com/2021/10/21/y...u-as-of-december-9-existing-users-unaffected/

The feud between Google and Roku rages on and it’s not escalating quite a bit. Following the removal of the YouTube TV app earlier this year, Roku and Google are once again failing to reach a deal and the YouTube app will be removed as a result.

Roku offered an update on the situation earlier today once again alleging that Google wants a special deal that includes modifying search results and access to data that no other streaming partners have. Google has denied the allegations and said that the company only wanted to renew its existing deal with Roku.
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In a further report from Axios, we’re reminded that the deal between YouTube and Roku is set to end in December, and if the two companies are unable to come to an agreement then the Roku platform will lose access to the standard YouTube app as well. In a statement shared by Google, the company confirms this detail and mentions that existing users will not be affected.
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ronjor · Dec 19, 2021

YouTube TV loses ESPN, ABC, and all other Disney-owned channels

Jon Brodkin - 12/18/2021
YouTube TV can't strike new deal with Disney, lowers price from $65 to $50.
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ronjor · Dec 19, 2021

YouTube TV Reaches Deal To Bring Back Disney-Owned Channels Including ESPN, Disney Channel, & ABC

Dec 19, 2021, 12:01 PM PST – Ben Bowman
After one day of being dark, YouTube TV and Disney have reached a deal which will see more than 17 Disney-owned channels, including local ABC affiliates, Disney Channel, and ESPN return to the service. YouTube TV says they will maintain their $64.99 price with all channels remaining as part of the base tier, while giving all members a $15 credit as a result of the carriage dispute.
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guest · Dec 31, 2021

YouTube TV losing a handful of sports and regional channels today
December 31, 2021

Earlier this month, Google’s cord-cutting service and Disney resolved their dispute. YouTube TV is now set to lose a handful of minor channels before the new year begins.

Nationwide, YouTube TV is losing CNBC World and NBC Sports Network. The former is a digital news channel, while the latter is part of an NBCUniversal shift that impacts all services rather than being due to a contract dispute. Google and NBC signed a new contract in October.
The full email is below: [...]
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