Is Google Play Music still available on Android?

Google Play Music was a music and podcast streaming service developed by Google that allowed users to upload and store up to 50,000 songs from their personal libraries. It launched in 2011 exclusively for Android devices and was pre-installed on many Android phones as the default music player. Over the years, Google Play Music grew into an extensive catalog of over 40 million songs for subscribers to stream alongside their personal collections.

Google Play Music was available as a free service that let users upload music and listen to radio stations. There was also a paid subscription tier called Google Play Music All Access that provided access to the full on-demand streaming catalog. On Android devices, Google Play Music was deeply integrated into the operating system and Google ecosystem.

Google Play Music Shutdown

In May 2020, Google announced that Google Play Music would be shut down later in the year (Source). After operating Google Play Music for nearly a decade since its launch in 2011, Google decided to transition users to YouTube Music, their newer streaming music service (Source).

The shutdown was scheduled to begin gradually in September 2020, starting with restrictions to certain features and uploads. Then in October 2020, Google Play Music was shut down fully for all users. Users’ libraries, preferences, playlists etc. needed to be transferred over to YouTube Music before the shutdown was complete (Source).

Transition to YouTube Music

When YouTube Music launched, it was seen as a replacement for Play Music. Google introduced YouTube Music in 2018 as part of their strategic effort to transition users to one centralized streaming service that combined music, music videos and live performances. While YouTube Music and Play Music existed simultaneously for a while, Google announced in 2020 that they were shutting down Play Music later that year and fully focusing all resources and development efforts on YouTube Music going forward.

The transition plan involved allowing Play Music subscribers to transfer their entire libraries of music, podcasts and playlists over to YouTube Music. Users could also upload up to 100,000 personal tracks to YouTube Music, just like they previously did with Play Music. The goal was to make the shift as seamless as possible and enable users to maintain access to the full content they enjoyed within Play Music.

Differences Between Services

Google Play Music and YouTube Music offer many of the same core features, including access to a massive library of music, playlists, and personalized recommendations. However, YouTube Music has emerged as the more modern service with advantages in areas like:

• User interface: YouTube Music boasts a clean, modern UI that is easier to navigate than Google Play Music, especially on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets (https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/10/24/google-play-music-to-youtube-music-making-the-switch/)
• Music videos and live content: YouTube Music gives access to official videos from your favorite artists and concerts, leveraging Google’s massive YouTube video database that Play Music lacked access to (https://screenrant.com/youtube-music-vs-google-play-music/)
• Search and discovery: YouTube Music has better integration with the wealth of data from YouTube and Google to power enhanced recommendations and a superior search experience

However, Google Play Music did offer some features that have not made their way to YouTube Music, like the ability to filter your library by genre and visualize your library statistics. While YouTube Music has more momentum now, some users still miss aspects of Play Music.

Transferring Libraries

With the shutdown of Google Play Music, users had to transfer their libraries over to YouTube Music. This process is fairly simple to do according to this CNET article:

1. Open the YouTube Music app on your Android device or go to music.youtube.com/transfer on desktop
2. You will see a transfer button, click on it
3. YouTube Music displays everything that will transfer over including songs, albums, playlists, uploads, purchases, likes/dislikes, etc.
4. Click the “Let’s Go” button to begin the transfer process

It’s a very simple process of just a few clicks. Everything from Google Play Music will be brought over to the user’s new YouTube Music library including all playlists, likes, purchases, and uploads. The transfer makes switching services quite easy.

Accessing Google Play Music

When Google Play Music shutdown in late 2020, users’ purchased libraries and uploaded content was migrated over to YouTube Music. However, according to users on Reddit, some people missed the opportunity to transfer their purchases and lost access.

Unfortunately, Google deleted the purchased content from its servers when Play Music was discontinued. So if you didn’t transfer your purchases during the transition period, that content is no longer accessible. While disappointing for impacted users, Google did provide advance notice about the shutdown to give people time to transfer libraries.

If you previously purchased music through Google Play that did not successfully transfer to YouTube Music, that content is permanently inaccessible at this point unless you have a backup elsewhere. Google’s support channels have confirmed that there is nothing more they can do to restore lost purchases from Play Music.

Availability on Android Devices

Google Play Music is no longer available for download or preinstalled on new Android devices. Google officially discontinued Google Play Music in late 2020 and transitioned users to YouTube Music (1).

YouTube Music is the official Google-owned music streaming app for Android now. YouTube Music comes preinstalled on all new Android devices running Android 7.0 and above. It’s also available for free download on the Google Play Store for Android devices (2).

Existing users who still have Google Play Music installed can continue using it, but the app will eventually stop working. Google has encouraged users to transfer their Google Play Music libraries and preferences to YouTube Music before that happens.

So in summary – YouTube Music is now the standard music app on Android, while access to Google Play Music is being phased out.

Alternatives on Android

With Google Play Music shutdown as of December 2020, many Android users are seeking alternative music streaming options besides YouTube Music. There are many free and paid music streaming services for Android as alternatives including Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, and more (Vizz, 2022). Some key Android music streaming alternatives include:

• Spotify – Streaming service with free ad-supported and premium paid tiers, supports Android Auto.
• Amazon Music – Included with Prime membership, also available as a standalone streaming service.
• Pandora – Popular free, ad-supported radio and on-demand streaming option.
• SoundCloud – Known for independent artists, remixes and DJ mixes.

Some users prefer alternatives to YouTube Music that specialize in certain music genres like SoundCloud, do not have ads like Amazon Music Unlimited, or have additional features like Spotify Connect. When selecting a music streaming service for Android, it’s important to consider aspects like price, audio quality, catalog size, and device compatibility.

User Sentiment

Many users expressed frustration and disappointment over the shutdown of Google Play Music according to discussions on Reddit and Quora (Source). Some felt that Google was too quick to abandon services that people relied on, pointing to Google Play Music as an example of a purchased product being taken away without possibility of recovery.

There were also questions about what would happen to users’ music libraries after the shutdown (Source). After October 2020, users lost the ability to access songs they had uploaded or purchased through Google Play Music. This meant losing access to music they had invested time and money into obtaining.

The shutdown marked the end of Google’s first attempt at a music streaming service before transitioning users to YouTube Music (Source). While some welcomed the new service, others lamented the loss of Google Play Music as a platform they were already familiar and comfortable with.

Conclusion

In December 2020, Google shut down its Google Play Music platform. The service was officially discontinued and replaced by YouTube Music, Google’s new unified music streaming application.

Google Play Music is no longer functional or supported on any Android devices. The app has been removed from the Play Store and accessing any downloaded version will not enable playback. Users’ libraries and preferences have been transferred to YouTube Music.