Is Google Music still free?
Google Music first launched in 2011 as a free music locker service that allowed users to upload up to 20,000 songs from their personal libraries. The service let users listen to their uploaded music on any device, acting like a cloud storage system for music. At launch, Google Music was completely free with no subscription required. Users could upload music from their computers and listen across devices like Android phones, tablets, and the web player (Google Music Update Brings Save To SD Card, Sharing …).
Google Music’s Paid Service
In May 2013, Google launched a paid music streaming service called Google Play Music All Access, alongside the existing free “music locker” service that allowed users to upload their own music library (Wikipedia). This new paid tier offered unlimited, on-demand access to Google’s catalog of over 20 million songs for $9.99 per month.
According to Google’s announcement at the time, Google Play Music All Access aimed to combine the best of both worlds – giving users access to Google’s licensed catalog of songs, while still allowing them to mix in their own music library (Engadget). Key features included customized radio stations based on songs, artists, albums or genres, unlimited skips, and the ability to save songs for offline listening.
The launch of the paid All Access tier marked Google’s transition into offering a fully-fledged music streaming subscription to compete with services like Spotify and Pandora. While the free locker service still remained, the paid offering gave users access to a much wider music catalog plus advanced features not available for free.
What Features Stayed Free
Even after the transition from Google Play Music, some key features remain free for users. Most notably, you can still upload up to 50,000 songs from your own music library to Google servers and then stream them at no cost. This allows you to listen to your personal music collection anywhere via Google Music, without having to pay. Additionally, curated radio stations based on your preferences, artists, and listening history continue to be free. You can enjoy unlimited access to these automatically generated radio stations that play music similar to the songs, artists, and genres you like.
So uploading your personal music library and listening to customized radio stations do not require a paid subscription. These were staples of the free version of Google Play Music and live on after its discontinuation. If you only need basics like these, you can avoid paying for the new YouTube Music Premium service. But you will be limited compared to paid members, as we’ll explore next.
Limits of the Free Service
The free version of Google Play Music has some limitations compared to the paid subscription. Most notably, users are only able to upload up to 50,000 songs from their personal libraries to store in the cloud [1]. This allows users to listen to their own music collection anywhere, but can be restrictive for people with very large personal libraries.
50,000 songs is the hard limit – users will not be able to upload any more tracks beyond this ceiling. The 50,000 upload limit applies even if users delete tracks, as it counts the total number of unique songs uploaded over time rather than current storage used [2]. So the free option is best suited for most mainstream music listeners, but audiophiles with huge collections may need to upgrade.
Benefits of the Paid Service
The paid version of Google Play Music, now called YouTube Music Premium, offers several benefits over the free tier, making it an attractive option for music lovers.
One of the biggest advantages is ad-free listening. The free version inserts audio ads between songs, while YouTube Music Premium provides completely uninterrupted playback. This allows you to enjoy your music without disruptive interruptions.
YouTube Music Premium also enables on-demand playback, giving you the ability to play any song at any time. You don’t have to wait for it to appear in a radio shuffle or queue. This gives you more control over your listening experience.
Another benefit is offline listening. You can download music to your device to access your favorite songs and playlists even without an internet connection. This makes YouTube Music Premium ideal for commutes, flights, and other situations where connectivity may be limited.
Finally, YouTube Music Premium offers higher, cd-quality audio. While the free tier maxes out at 128kbps, the premium service streams music at up to 256kbps. Audiophiles will appreciate the improved fidelity and clarity this provides.
Overall, the paid version removes many restrictions while upgrading the user experience. Ad-free, on-demand listening and offline playback coupled with superior audio quality make YouTube Music Premium a significant upgrade over the free offering.
Pricing for Google Play Music
The standard pricing for Google Play Music is $9.99 per month for an individual plan. This gives you ad-free access to stream over 50 million songs that you can download for offline listening. It also includes unlimited skips, playlists, and stations [1].
Compared to competitors like Apple Music at $9.99 per month and Amazon Prime Music at $7.99 per month as part of Prime, Google Play Music’s $9.99 per month price is very much in line with other top music streaming services [2]. For the features and music catalog offered, Google Play Music provides good value at this price point.
Comparisons to Other Services
Google Music faces stiff competition from other popular music streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music Unlimited.
Spotify is often considered Google Music’s biggest rival. Spotify boasts a larger music catalog of over 80 million songs compared to Google’s estimated 40-50 million. Spotify also has more advanced features like social sharing, music discovery playlists, and connectivity with more third-party devices (Source).
However, Google Music matches Spotify on pricing at $9.99 per month for premium ad-free listening. Google argues its service offers more intelligent customized playlists powered by advanced AI algorithms. But Spotify still appears stronger when it comes to overall playlist curation and music discovery.
Apple Music also competes heavily with over 90 million songs and a big push into exclusive content like new releases. However, Apple Music is only available within Apple’s ecosystem, while Google and Spotify are compatible across all platforms.
Amazon Music Unlimited has a comparable catalog of 60 million songs and similar pricing, but lagged behind in features until recently. Amazon aims to differentiate itself based on exclusive podcast content and its deep integration with Alexa smart speakers.
Overall, while competitors like Spotify and Apple Music have set the standard, Google Music still holds its own as a top option for music streaming worth considering (Source). Its tight YouTube integration gives Google an advantage, but it still has catching up to do in other areas.
What Happens if You Don’t Upgrade
While the free version of Google Music is limited compared to the paid service, you can still take advantage of some of the core features without upgrading. According to Alphr, users with a Google Home smart speaker can stream free music from YouTube Music without a subscription. To set this up, simply open the Google Home app, go to Settings > Music > Services, and select YouTube Music as your default music service. This allows you to request songs, playlists, and albums from YouTube Music’s ad-supported free tier.
You can also upload up to 50,000 of your own songs to Google Play Music and stream them on demand for free, as outlined by Tech Advisor. While you don’t get access to the full Google music catalog without paying, you can still enjoy your personal music collection. Just be aware of the upload limit. Overall, you can take advantage of core services, but will face restrictions compared to premium subscribers.
The Future of Google Music
The future of Google Play Music has been uncertain since Google introduced YouTube Music back in 2015. YouTube Music is Google’s new streaming service aimed to eventually consolidate and replace Google Play Music and YouTube Red (source 1). So far YouTube Music has not yet completely replaced Google Play Music. Google Play Music is still running in parallel for now.
However, it’s unclear how long Google Play Music will remain active. The company’s recent moves with YouTube Music, such as preinstalling it on Android devices, suggest Google Play Music’s days are numbered (source 2). But Google has not given a specific timeline for when or if Google Play Music will officially be discontinued in favor of YouTube Music.
For now, users can continue accessing Google Play Music. But given the investments into YouTube Music, it seems inevitable Google Play Music will be phased out eventually (source 3). Users likely will need to transition over to YouTube Music as Google consolidates its music streaming services under one platform.
Conclusion
After reviewing the details, we’ve learned that Google Play Music still offers a free, ad-supported tier. This allows you to upload up to 50,000 songs from your personal library and listen on demand. However, premium features like unlimited skips, downloads, and access to the full Google Play Music catalog now require a paid subscription to YouTube Music Premium.
The free, ad-supported version has limited functionality compared to the premium service. But it remains an option for those who want basic features without paying. With the transition to YouTube Music well underway, the future of the free Google Play Music tier remains uncertain. Google may discontinue or further limit it.
For full access to streaming features most users expect today, YouTube Music Premium is advised. The $9.99 monthly subscription removes ads, unlocks unlimited skips, and grants offline listening. An excellent value compared to the competition.