RAIN Notes: Monday, April 29
YouTube Music
Google to end Google Podcasts; commits to YouTube Music for “increasing investment in the podcast experience”
“We want to make sure we get this right.” —Google YouTube team. Google will discontinue the Google Podcasts app, and move its central podcast offering to YouTube Music in 2024. In choosing YouTube Music as the home base for podcasting, YouTube is emulating Spotify’s hybrid music/talk content model. Continue Reading
With Spotify’s recent raise, major music services are settled at $10.99 subscription level
Spotify made news during its Q2 earnings report (See RAIN HERE and HERE) for raising its monthly Spotify Premium subscription rate from $9.99 to $10.99. Investor reaction, as a whole, could be characterized as “It’s about time.” Our survey of current music subscription pricing does support some investor impatience with Spotify, with six competing services having already boosted to that level.
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YouTube Music at 50M subscribers
The number includes current trials, but is still impressive: YouTube Music crossed the 50-million mark in subscribers. Lyer Cohen, head of YouTube Music, says “We’re in our own lane.” Much of the growth is international, especially Asia and South America. Continue Reading
Google Play Music to close … soon. Google attempts to funnel users into YouTube Music.
The warning is clear, though without a timeline: “You will soon lose access to Google Play Music.” That’s what Android users see when they open the Google Play Music app — Google’s would-be direct competitor to Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. Users are advised to transfer their accounts to YouTube Music, where the subscriptions will continue. YouTube Music is a starkly different UEX environment and library proposition. Continue Reading
Google Play Music: Days numbered, to the relief of brand confusion
Google Play Music will reportedly be shuttered. The timetable? September for Australia and New Zealand, October for everyone else. Users will have until end-of-year to retrieve their cloud-stored music. The existing YouTube Music will take over as Google’s on-demand streaming service. This shift is helpful to what has been Google’s audio-related miasma of branding. Continue Reading
YouTube Music gets broad rollout for lyrics
YouTube Music is continuing to broaden its feature set. The latest update is an expansion of its lyrics display. Access to a tab with the full lyrics to a song was introduced in the YouTube Music Android app a few weeks ago. Now, YouTube is making the feature available to all users. Continue Reading
Rumor Fact(ory): Internal Google beta hints at Google Play Music phase-out
The Google/Alphabet empire has been rumored to be planning consolidation under its sprawling umbrella of music properties. The latest insider info hints that the transition to phase out Google Play Music in favor of YouTube Music. Continue Reading
YouTube Music launches three personalized playlists aimed at both discovery and familiarity
YouTube Music has been expanding its programming to keep pace with the offerings of other on-demand streaming platforms. Its latest additions are three personalized playlists for music discovery. Continue Reading
YouTube Music plans official debut for three personalized playlists
A few eagle-eyed listeners noticed that YouTube Music was gradually rolling out a discovery playlist at the end of September. That playlist was one of three that the video platform will officially launch later this month, the latest step to bring its offering more in line with the standard programming at rival streaming services. Continue Reading
YouTube Music to replace Google Play Music in the new wave of Android phones
Google is making another step toward consolidating its sprawling on-demand music app ecosystem. The YouTube Music app will come pre-installed as the official music app on Android 10 smartphones. It replaces Google Play Music. Continue Reading
YouTube Music launches weekly discovery playlist
YouTube is still updating its on-demand streaming platform to have the same feature sets as its more established competitors. The latest new feature at YouTube Music is a playlist called Discover Mix. Continue Reading