How to Stop Music Uploading on Google Play Music

Well, it'southward not like Google didn't warn us: Google Play Music volition officially shut down at the end of the year.

If you're wondering what that means for you, your music collection, and your hereafter streaming needs, don't worry; there'southward still lots of time and there is no shortage of options. Let'due south look at the best of them.

The end of Google Play Music

Google Play Music icon — Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Hither's what Google Play Music'southward swan song will await like:

Starting in late August, users volition no longer be able to purchase and pre-social club music or upload and download music from Google Play Music through Music Manager.
In Oct, U.S. users will no longer be able to stream from or use the Google Play Music app.
By the terminate of October, if you haven't migrated your Google Play Music library to YouTube Music, Google will automatically cancel your subscription at the end of your billing cycle.
Playlists, uploads, purchases, likes, and more will notwithstanding remain in your Google Play Music library until December.
Between October and December, you lot tin can either apply the transfer tool to migrate whatever purchases over to YouTube Music, or use Google Takeout to export data and download purchased and uploaded music.
At any fourth dimension, you tin choose to delete your Google Play Music data, and Google says it will notify you lot well earlier you lose admission to this data at the cease of the year.

Migrate to YouTube Music

Transfer from Google Play Music to YouTube Music — Google

Past far the easiest option for Google Play Music users is to follow the quick and convenient path Google has created to migrate to YouTube Music.

Though not an exact replica of Google Play Music, YouTube Music has the distinct advantage of beingness able to adapt your entire existing music library, including purchased music, playlists, and likes. But the large bonus for those who chose to upload their personal music to Google Play Music is that these tracks tin can be migrated directly from one service to the other, with no downloading or re-uploading needed.

Some other plus: If yous currently pay for a Google Play Music subscription, all of your billing info will be transferred besides, and you'll automatically get an equivalent subscription tier in YouTube Music.

There are two ways to start the migration process:

Download the YouTube Music app to your mobile device and sign-in with the aforementioned mail business relationship as y'all use for Google Play Music — you'll be prompted to brainstorm the migration.
Visit Google'south migration tool using a browser — making sure you're logged in to Google using the same email account as you apply for Google Play Music.

In one case the process is started, you tin can leave the migration tool to do its thing; you'll be notified by email when the procedure is consummate, or you can visit the tool site at whatever time to see your progress.

If you begin your migration before the Oct cutoff, y'all'll be able to use both Google Play Music and YouTube Music simultaneously, which is a great way to wean yourself off of the older platform slowly, without going cold turkey.

What you should know:

Podcasts: Unlike Google Play Music, YouTube Music doesn't support podcasts. To continue listening to your favorite podcasts, you lot can use the complimentary Google Podcasts app and website. There'south even a migration tool for Google Podcasts that will keep all of your subscriptions and episode progress information intact.
Background play: Google Play Music supports background play for all users, simply on YouTube Music, it's a paid-only characteristic — with one exception. Gratis accounts can still exercise background play for your uploaded songs and streaming on smart devices with Google Banana.
Radio: Google Play Music, in addition to hosting tons of pre-built playlists, besides features "radio stations," which are substantially endless playlists curated around bands, themes, genres, etc. YouTube Music has this feature as well, merely it's non curated. Instead, any song or playlist can go the starting point for an algorithmically created, related radio station.

Pick a new streaming service

If YouTube Music doesn't appeal to you, you lot can always drift to i of the many other pop streaming music services. The transition won't be quite equally seamless, just if y'all value some of the features on these other platforms, information technology might well exist worth some brusk-term pain.

Apple Music

Different YouTube Music, there's no free tier of service on Apple Music, but if y'all're a fan of Apple's devices, information technology offers a very well-integrated music listening experience.

Free trial period: Typically iii months.
Pricing: Individual plans are $10 per month, $99 per year, or $5 per month if yous're a student. An up-to-six-member family plan is $fifteen per month.
Upload your personal music collection, and you tin can access it on whatever device that runs Apple tree Music.
Admission to more than than 100,000 live radio stations from around the globe.
Exclusive access to Beats 1 Radio.
Sectional early on access to some new albums.
Lots of human-curated playlists and stations.
Offline listening.
No integrated podcast office — Apple tree has its ain standalone podcasts app

Download at Apple

Spotify

Spotify has both free and paid tiers of service, each with a different ready of features. It's probably best-known for its all-encompassing playlists and music discovery features, but lately, it's also become a powerhouse in podcasts, a characteristic that another services don't offer.

Gratis trial period: Typically i month.
Pricing: Individual – $10 per calendar month, Duo (two people in the same household) – $13 per month, Family (up to six members) – $fifteen per month, and Pupil – $5 per month.
Podcast subscriptions, including exclusive shows similar the Joe Rogan Experience and the Michele Obama Podcast.
Thousands of Spotify-curated playlists, and many more created past other Spotify members.
Create, share, and collaborate on playlists.
Offline listening.
You can't upload your personal music but there is a way to sync your personal music between Spotify devices when you're at home.

Download at Spotify

Tidal

Tidal doesn't have a free tier or the marketing power of Spotify or Apple Music, but it has features that serious music lovers should appreciate, including one of the all-time catalogs of lossless, high-res music.

Free trial period: Typically one month.
Pricing: Premium Individual – $10 per calendar month, HiFi Private – $20 per calendar month, Premium Family – $15 per calendar month, HiFi Family – $thirty per month (up to six members), plus boosted plans for kickoff responders, students, and other groups.
Upload your personal music collection and playlists
HiFi tier gives y'all admission to millions of CD-quality, lossless, and hullo-res tracks including Dolby Atmos Music and Sony 360 Reality Audio formats.
Exclusive albums and videos.
No podcasts per se, but there is an extensive collection of sectional "shows" that are presented in podcast format.
Offline listening.

Pandora

With its advertisement-supported gratis tier, Pandora is the closest thing to YouTube Music and Spotify on this list.

Free trial period: Anywhere from one to three months depending on the plan.
Pricing: Pandora Plus – $5 per calendar month, Pandora Premium – $10 per month, Pandora Premium Family (up to 6 members) – $xv per calendar month, Pandora Premium Student – $5 per month, Pandora Premium Military – $8 per month.
Support for all podcasts.
Uses the Music Genome Project to suggest new music based on existing preferences.
Create and share playlists.
Offline listening.
No manner to upload your personal collection or playlists.

Amazon Music Unlimited, Amazon Prime Music, Amazon Music Hard disk

With a crazy number of complimentary and paid plans, plus excellent integration into all of Amazon's Repeat smart speaker products, Amazon'south Music services are fast becoming elevation contenders in the streaming music infinite.

Amazon Music Unlimited Free is an ad-supported programme that'south limited to a two million+ song catalog. Amazon Prime Music is the same catalog, but if you're a Prime member, you tin can heed ad-free.

For the paid version of Amazon Music Unlimited:

Free trial period: Typically iii months.
Pricing: Individual plan for Prime members – $8 per month or $79 per year, Individual for non-Prime members – $10 per month.
Family program for Prime/non-prime members (up to six members) – $15 per month, or an almanac price of $149 but for Prime number members.
sixty meg songs
Auto-rip feature volition add whatever vinyl or CD anthology you buy on Amazon to your library automatically.
Excellent integration with Amazon Alexa.
Offline listening.
No manner to upload your personal drove or playlists.

For Amazon Music HD:

Complimentary trial menstruum: Typically three months.
Pricing: Individual – $15 per calendar month or $13 per month for Prime members, Family unit (up to six members) – $20 per month.
sixty million songs
Automobile-rip feature will add any vinyl or CD anthology y'all buy on Amazon to your library automatically.
Entire itemize available in CD-quality lossless streaming audio.
Millions of select tracks also available in ameliorate-than-CD-quality hello-resolution lossless FLAC and MQA formats.
Dolby Atmos Music format supported on select tracks.
Splendid integration with Amazon Alexa.
Offline listening.
No way to upload your personal collection or playlists.

Sign upwardly at Amazon

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