Moving from Google Play Music to YouTube Music is no longer optional, as the first is set to go dark later this year, but those who do migrate to the new service come across a series of drawbacks that often prevent them from making the most of it.
Android Auto users, for example, switched from Google Play Music to YouTube Music only to discover that they can’t even listen to their own libraries or music they purchased in the past without getting a subscription.
In other words, if your account already includes some songs, you can’t listen to them on Android Auto unless you buy a subscription for YouTube Music.
While this certainly sounds awkward, such a limitation has already caused a lot of frustration in the Android Auto user community, with some claiming they would no longer stick with YouTube Music but switch to a music player that supports local libraries.
The good news is that Google is working on fixing all of these, and the company promised in a recent interview that YouTube Music is set to receive improvements in several key areas. The company hasn’t specifically mentioned Android Auto, but it did say that it’s planning to resolve the feature gaps between the old and the new service.
“We understand that uploaded content is an integral part of the listening experience for many of our users across YouTube Music. While several features for uploaded content aren’t currently working in the free YouTube Music experience, we’re working hard to address these feature gaps and bring additional functionality to our free tier user. We look forward to sharing more updates soon,” Google said.
Of course, no ETA is available right now, so nobody knows exactly how long is going to take until all these problems are resolved. In the meantime, here’s the schedule for Google Play Music's demise, so you can be fully prepared for the moment the service goes dark once and for all.
In other words, if your account already includes some songs, you can’t listen to them on Android Auto unless you buy a subscription for YouTube Music.
While this certainly sounds awkward, such a limitation has already caused a lot of frustration in the Android Auto user community, with some claiming they would no longer stick with YouTube Music but switch to a music player that supports local libraries.
The good news is that Google is working on fixing all of these, and the company promised in a recent interview that YouTube Music is set to receive improvements in several key areas. The company hasn’t specifically mentioned Android Auto, but it did say that it’s planning to resolve the feature gaps between the old and the new service.
“We understand that uploaded content is an integral part of the listening experience for many of our users across YouTube Music. While several features for uploaded content aren’t currently working in the free YouTube Music experience, we’re working hard to address these feature gaps and bring additional functionality to our free tier user. We look forward to sharing more updates soon,” Google said.
Of course, no ETA is available right now, so nobody knows exactly how long is going to take until all these problems are resolved. In the meantime, here’s the schedule for Google Play Music's demise, so you can be fully prepared for the moment the service goes dark once and for all.