The rise of YouTube Music has been a steady one, but it has also experienced some significant bumps in the road. Now the choice is clear that users need to migrate to YouTube Music or find another option, another bump has appeared. A number of readers commented recently that on a free account, your personal library cannot be cast to speakers. 9to5google may have some good news though in a recent APK teardown.
In their article, the 9to5 team note a couple of code strings that will excite some users and a finding that will annoy as well: let’s start with the good news. The restriction that prevents users from casting their own personal library will be fixed and seemingly soon. Unfortunately, free users — despite some of the advertising you’ll be subject to — will not be able to cast YouTube Music songs to your speakers.
The code strings earlier referenced, show this in reasonably clear detail:
<string name=”audio_only_castability_missing_start_playback_toast”>Play your uploads now or get Premium to play all YouTube Music songs</string>
<string name=”audio_only_castability_missing_queue_toast”>You can only add uploads to your queue. Upgrade to add YouTube Music songs.</string>
<string name=”mdx_audio_cast_uploads_confirmation_dialog_message”>YouTube Music songs will be removed from your queue once you connect to your speakers</string>
It looks like some pretty good news for users who’ve uploaded significant personal libraries. Being fair to Google, they’re running a business, so it makes sense to push users to pay for a subscription if they want to cast to speakers versus using headphones on a mobile device.
Being fair to google? Seriously? They stabbed us in the back! They are trillion dollar company making a money grab. I know people keep calling them uploads but I bought the cast majority of my music in google play so they made a cut. Then I trusted them to manage that music and they stabbed me in the back! I used to be Google fan. I own a Google Pixel phone and a Google router for my smart “hey Google” home smart devices. I am going to replace everything!! I am going to buy an Iphone and amazon alexa –… Read more »
I can’t believe I am saying this but I got to try Apple Music through Optus and it’s pretty decent. iTunes, as terrible on Windows it has ever been and how expensive the Apple Music store is, is one of the last places where you can still buy and own music (I wish Amazon Music Store was as complete as Apple Music Store, but its not). Apple Music just needs to integrate with Google Home and then it can easily be a viable alternate to YTM.
Anyone else here tried it?
As another, better, tech journo put it, YTM is not a music app, it’s a way to increase YouTube viewing minutes. Google may be in for a couple of surprises, since it doesn’t seem to realise what people want in a video streaming site is not at all what draws them to music apps. No way was YTM ready for prime time. And unless it gets really better really soon (unlikely) or Google decides to keep GPM for a while longer, until they hopefully get their shit together, it’s STOP: CANCEL TIME for me.
So – the music I’ve paid for and downloaded from Google Play, and now transferred to YTM cannot be bluetoothed to speakers unless I purchase subscription for YTM? How does that makes sense? What’s the point of having the music if I can’t have quality playback of my choice?
Yes it’s hard to know what Google are thinking , Google Play music worked , and for whatever reason Google has continued with their penchant for changing things that are not broken.
I don’t understand their logic a lot of the time.
Have been using YTM for a while. Don’t like it at all. Thinking of moving back to Spotify. And I think I won’t be the only one. Google will loose a lot of subscribers with this move.
Nope.
YouTube Music has never been, and never will be, ready to rise above the hurdle that is/was Google Play Music.
When are they going to fix a to z on the website version and on sonos? Any idea? Everything is out of order with no option to fix it. This is my only gripe with youtube music. If they do not fix it soon, I am cancelling the service. This is ridiculous. How hard can this be for them to fix? Geez!