Equally the Play Music library migration tool rolls out more widely in the by week, more and more than 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 split up expanse—there are others you may only encounter with time. While the feature has been live for months now, many people are only encountering YouTube Music'south uploaded library feature in the past few days, and what you detect may not exactly thrill you lot. Hither's everything you need to know about the drawbacks (and, occasionally, benefits) of YouTube Music's cloud music storage characteristic.

Library management

Uploading

Google Play Music and YouTube Music both permit yous upload music by dragging and dropping files and folders onto their spider 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, but the service has been feeling rather broken over the last few years for many people. We asked Google whether it would come for YouTube Music and were told that the developers "currently don't have whatsoever plans" to support it — don't hold your jiff.

Information technology'due south likely that neither the Chrome app nor the desktop upload helper will come up to YouTube Music.

Before yous upload your files, you should also brand sure they're in a supported format: FLAC, M4A, MP3, OGG, or WMA. Google Play Music, in contrast, additionally supports M4Ps — DRM-protected AAC files. If YouTube Music runs into any bug during the upload procedure, information technology volition send you an email stating equally much, which I've never seen GPM do. It includes a list of all files that haven't been added to it, and so you tin effort uploading those again.

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

Google Play Music has a pesky limit of x active devices that doesn't only include your mobile devices merely also whatever desktop estimator you've ever used for uploads and unlimited downloads of music. The corresponding settings folio says, "Uploading or downloading music using Music Manager or Google Play Music for Chrome counts towards your device limit." While the same limit applies to YouTube Music, it'southward non clear if instances like 3rd party desktop players count confronting your full number of devices.

On Play Music, y'all can upload a maximum of 50,000 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 carry merely like those available for streaming — when you search for an creative person or an album, your own files volition pop upwards right between results from Google's library. If you upload music already available on the platform, Google will try its best to friction match them to avoid showing duplicates (which it's arguably not too expert at).

Left: Search. Middle & Right: Library.

With YouTube Music, the situation is different. Uploaded music gets its own department in the app that'southward sealed off from audio available through the streaming service. When you search for music, y'all'll see two tabs: YT Music and Uploads. If you accept a huge library of titles not available on the streaming service, yous might find yourself swiping between these tabs constantly to find the music you're searching for.

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

Ultimately, this access comparison comes down to preference: Once y'all're aware of the differences, you could even end upwardly liking the new arrangement more than Google Play Music's.

Free plan

You can still 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 access to uploads. You can also play music from Google'south library, merely you're limited to starting mixes — you lot can't choose specific songs. YouTube Music, on the other hand, lets y'all choose which songs to play equally long every bit the app is active and your display turned on. You'll also run into ads when you heed to music other than your own.

Metadata

Google Play Music lets you lot edit your files' metadata after uploading, allowing you to correct a misspelled title or interpret. The feature is not supported by YouTube Music, and nosotros don't know if information technology'southward planned at all. It would be a overnice addition, merely don't concord your breath.

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Google Domicile

Play Music lets you play your uploaded files on Google Dwelling just like whatever other vocal, by saying "Hey Google, play [desired title]." 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 manus, doesn't let you admission your uploaded files via a Google Home vocalization command at all. Instead, it will play the video version if available. The same happens when you try to play music through the Assistant on your telephone. Yous might not detect that most of the fourth dimension, but some music videos include longer non-music audio snippets, like Michael Jackson'southward Thriller. You'll need to use the YouTube Music app's casting capabilities to play your own songs.

Android Machine

Left & Centre: YouTube Music on Android Auto. Right: Google Play Music.

On Android Car, you tin access your uploads just like y'all would in the app or on the website: Choose a category like Albums and then head to Uploads.In that location, y'all'll meet everything you've added to YT Music. That's withal amend than Google Play Music — its Android Auto interface only gives y'all access toMusic for Drivingplaylists,Recent activity,andplaylists.You tin can play other songs by request the Assistant for the title, but there's no visual way around your library.

Alarms

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

To use YouTube Music content for your alarms, you need to subscribe to the service's premium plan. Even when y'all practice that, you tin't use your own files for alarms at the moment — searching for my uploaded Rammstein album didn't return whatsoever results. Nosotros don't know if this feature volition come up afterward. Meanwhile, Play Music doesn't support Android's alert app at all, so it'south something.

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

Thanks: Jes, Webber, Eduardo, Karl Horky

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Manuel Vonau (1636 Articles Published)

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

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