Η Google starts migrating Google Play Music accounts to YouTube Music. Google Play Music users will receive a notification shortly.
Google has a long history of running multiple overlapping services at the same time, such as having a number of messaging services. Another example is in the field of music with Google Play Music, released in 2011 and YouTube Music, the "competitive" brand launched by Google to establish YouTube as a de facto music repository.
After years of uncertainty and cross-promotions, Google is finally preparing the ground to bring Google Play Music users to YouTube Music. In the coming weeks, Google Play users will receive emails and in-app prompts to transfer their libraries to YouTube Music. This transfer process will include all major Google Play features, such as:
- Buy songs and albums
- Uploaded personal music (upload limit upgraded to 100.000 songs)
- Saved lists perproduction
- Subscriptions podcast
Users do not need to start the transfer at this time and free users will not be charged for new services. Those who wish to subscribe to Google Play Music for premium features, such as radio streams without ads, will find that their link goes directly to YouTube Music Premium, as they both cost € 7 for individual accounts.
We assume that at some point in the near future, Google will shut down Google Play Music.