The company announced major changes to its streaming lineup on May 24, including a reimagined YouTube Music service , and as of Monday, June 18, those new services have gone live in the United States and 16 other countries. But there are some real lingering questions left unanswered after the dust settled. We reached out to Google to clarify the details of its new service, as well as how it affects Google Play Music, which is the default music app on many Android phones. Google has two music streaming services : Google Play Music , which launched in , and YouTube Music , which debuted in It has access to thousands of playlists, songs, albums, artists, and more, and it has neat features like the ability to search for songs via vague descriptions or lyrics. YouTube Red is now called YouTube Premium , and it will still provide an ad-free experience across all of YouTube, along with background play, the ability to download videos to watch offline, and access to YouTube Originals. So to break it down: YouTube Music lets you stream music with ads. YouTube Music Premium lets you stream music without ads, and has a few extra perks.


Subscription options & billing
YouTube Music and YouTube Premium are now live in the U.S., 16 other nations
Don't worry, Google now has an easy way to move your music library, playlists and preferences over to YouTube's music streaming service. But YouTube Music recently unveiled a tool to help you transfer your entire library, profile and playlists from Google's streaming service into YouTube's revamped one with just one tap. YouTube Music is also getting some new features that may make it a bigger competitor to streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music. For now, users will have access to both services, giving them time to move their music over and get used to the YouTube Music interface. But starting at the end of August, you won't be able to purchase, preorder, upload or download music from Google Play Music through Music Manager. In the US and other areas globally, that will happen in October.
YouTube Premium, explained
Welcome to the unofficial reddit home of Google Play Music! Here you can discuss features of Google Play Music, report issues you're having, and help out others with support questions. YouTube Premium with long-time Google Play subscription? Is there any way I can get this feature? Do a chat with support.
YouTube is still an ad-supported platform and free users will need to watch ads to consume content. No doubt anticipating a flood of questions and concerns about cost and pricing, Google issued a chart that explains precisely what is included in a subscription to each of its new paid-tier services. Whether the chart has made understanding the pricing structure more complicated, however, is a separate issue entirely. YouTube Music is available as both a web app and mobile app on Android and iOS , and comes in a free and paid version. The free version provides access to ad-supported music videos and songs, while the paid version — YouTube Music Premium — provides users with ad-free music, the ability to listen to music in the background, as well as the ability to download both music videos and songs to listen to offline. Additionally, YouTube Music does not carry any podcasts — unlike Google Play Music, which has an entire section dedicated to podcasts. In addition to its two newest streaming services, Google has chosen to maintain its Google Play Music streaming service.