Is YouTube Music free for Android?
YouTube Music is a music streaming service developed by YouTube. It provides a tailored interface for music streaming through official songs, albums, thousands of playlists and artist radio. The service was originally launched in 2015, but was relaunched in 2018 to introduce both a free, ad-supported tier and a premium subscription tier without ads.
For Android users, YouTube Music offers both a free version and a paid YouTube Music Premium version without ads or skip limits. The free version provides a mix of ad-supported music videos, songs, radio, and playlists. YouTube Music Premium offers all the features of the free version plus offline play, no ads, background play, and more.[1]
YouTube Music Free Version
The free, ad-supported version of YouTube Music allows users to stream music and listen to playlists, albums, songs and artists on-demand without paying a subscription fee. This version is available on Android devices as well as iOS devices.
With the free YouTube Music, users can search for and play any song or album on-demand. However, they cannot download music for offline listening and will hear advertisements periodically. The free version also does not allow for background or offline listening.
The free ad-supported version gives users access to YouTube Music’s catalog of over 80 million official songs, covers, and remixes. This includes both major label content as well as independent artist uploads. Users can create playlists, “like” songs to improve recommendations, and browse charts and personalized mixes based on their taste (cite: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6312991?hl=en).
Overall, the free version of YouTube Music provides on-demand streaming access to its full music catalog, with periodic ads. Key limitations include no offline listening, no background listening, and no ability to download songs. The free version serves as an entry point to engage users and upsell them on a paid YouTube Music Premium subscription.
YouTube Music Premium
YouTube Music Premium is the paid, ad-free version of YouTube Music. It offers several benefits over the free version, including (source):
- Ad-free listening
- Ability to play songs offline
- Listen to music with the screen off
- Unlimited skips and replays
- Higher audio quality streaming up to 256kbps
YouTube Music Premium provides access to YouTube’s vast catalog of official songs, albums, playlists and music videos. It also includes YouTube’s catalog of remixes, live performances, covers and other user-generated content (source). The Premium version gives you the full music experience without interruptions from ads.
Free Access on Android
The free, ad-supported version of YouTube Music is available for Android users to access. This allows Android device owners to use core features of YouTube Music without paying for a subscription. According to the YouTube Music app listing on the Google Play store, the free version provides access to “official songs, albums, thousands of playlists and artist radio plus YouTube’s tremendous catalog of remixes, live performances, covers and music videos.”
With the free ad-supported version on Android, users can search for and play millions of songs and videos. However, playback is interrupted by ads and limited to shuffle mode for playlists. Downloading songs for offline playback and background listening are premium-only features not available for free users. But Android owners can still access YouTube Music’s large song catalog, radio stations, and other core music functionalities for free.
Premium Access on Android
YouTube offers a paid subscription called YouTube Premium that provides an enhanced experience on Android devices without ads. According to the YouTube support page, YouTube Premium can be purchased for individual use on Android for $11.99 per month in the United States.
With a YouTube Premium membership, Android users get access to ad-free music listening from YouTube Music, the ability to download videos and songs for offline playback, background play to keep videos or music playing when switching apps or locking your phone, and exclusive access to YouTube Originals content.
YouTube Premium can be purchased in-app on an Android device or via the YouTube website and applied across devices. There is also a free one-month trial available. Students can get a discounted YouTube Premium rate of $6.99 per month with a student email verification.
So in summary, yes there is a paid ad-free YouTube Premium version available for Android users that unlocks additional benefits beyond the free ad-supported base experience.
Free Version Limitations
The free version of YouTube Music for Android does come with some downsides and limitations compared to the paid YouTube Music Premium subscription. Some of the key limitations of the free YouTube Music on Android include:
Audio quality is limited – The maximum audio bitrate quality for free users is 128kbps, while YouTube Music Premium can stream up to 256kbps [1]. This results in lower audio fidelity than the premium version.
No on-demand playback – Free users cannot play any song on-demand or download music for offline listening. Playback is limited to shuffle mode for personalized playlists, with no track skipping allowed [2].
Limited skips – Free users only get up to 6 skips per playlist per hour. Trying to skip more tracks results in an error.
Advertisements – There are periodic audio and video advertisements between songs for free users.
Screen lock playback stops – Music playback stops if your Android device’s screen turns off. Premium allows background/screen-off listening.
Premium Benefits
YouTube Music Premium provides several upgrades and perks for Android users who subscribe (according to Google’s support page). Some of the key benefits of Premium on Android include:
No Advertisements – Premium allows you to enjoy ad-free music listening across YouTube Music. This creates an uninterrupted experience.
Background Play – You can keep listening to music even when you switch apps or lock your phone. The audio continues playing in the background.
Offline Downloads – Download songs, albums, playlists and more for offline playback when you don’t have an internet connection. This is great for planes, subways, road trips, etc.
Audio-Only Mode – Conserve mobile data by streaming just the audio without the music videos. You can also minimize the app and just enjoy the audio.
High Quality Audio – Premium subscribers can enable high bitrate audio streaming up to 256kbps for improved sound quality.
So in summary, Premium provides an ad-free, uninterrupted listening experience with useful features like offline downloads and background play. These benefits create a much nicer overall user experience, especially for music fans on Android.
Additional Android App Features
The YouTube Music app for Android has several handy features beyond just streaming music. Here are some other notable app features available on Android devices:
Offline Downloads – You can download songs, albums, playlists and more for offline listening when you don’t have an internet connection. This requires a YouTube Music Premium subscription.
Background Playback – Keep listening to music even when you switch apps or lock your phone. This also requires a paid YouTube Music Premium subscription.
Smart Search – Find songs by lyrics by simply typing a few words from the lyrics. YouTube Music will try to match it to songs in their catalog.
Personalized Recommendations – The app suggests new music and playlists tailored specifically to your taste based on your listening history and likes.
Ad-free listening – Premium subscribers can listen to music without any audio or visual advertisements interrupting your listening experience.
Upload Library – Add up to 100,000 of your own song files to YouTube Music to listen to them alongside catalog songs.
According to this article, the app provides a clean, minimalist interface optimized for music discovery on Android devices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Many people have questions about the pricing and availability of YouTube Music’s free and premium versions. Here are answers to some of the most common questions:
Is YouTube Music’s free version available on Android devices?
Yes, Android users can access the free, ad-supported version of YouTube Music (1). This allows you to search for and play music, but with limitations compared to the premium version.
What features come with YouTube Music Premium on Android?
The paid YouTube Music Premium on Android provides an ad-free experience, offline downloads, background listening, and audio-only mode. Premium starts at $9.99/month (2).
Can I get YouTube Music Premium for free on my Android device?
There is no permanent free trial for YouTube Music Premium on Android. However, some cell phone plans include subscriptions, or limited-time trials are sometimes offered for new users (3). Otherwise, you must pay to subscribe.
What features are limited or unavailable in the free version?
Key differences include no offline downloads, limited skips per hour, mandatory shuffle mode for playlists, no background listening, and forced ad interruptions in the free YouTube Music.
Conclusion
In summary, YouTube Music does offer a free, ad-supported version for Android users. This allows access to music streaming and playlists, but limits features like unlimited skips, offline downloads, and background listening. To unlock the full Premium experience on Android – including these additional perks along with an ad-free interface – users can subscribe to YouTube Music Premium for a monthly fee. From mobile connectivity to Google Assistant capabilities, YouTube Music provides Android users with a robust music platform. Whether the free or paid versions are more valuable depends on one’s preferences. But ultimately, Android users have the ability to enjoy YouTube Music with or without a Premium account.