The YouTube Music app for smart TVs is getting some great new features and a makeover to make song discovery easier.
What Is YouTube Music?
YouTube Music is a music streaming service that launched in 2015. It’s designed to make it easy to browse and play songs and music videos on YouTube.
The service is free to everyone and supported by ads, though there are premium tiers that bring additional features like offline mode and background playback.
YouTube Music is available on the web and mobile devices, but also through smart displays, Google Home and Nest speakers, and smart TVs.
What’s New for YouTube Music on TVs?
YouTube Music has been available on smart TVs since July 2020, bundled as part of the YouTube app.
YouTube has been listening to feedback and has now updated the experience to add new features and improve the layout, as announced on the YouTube blog.
You can now easily find your saved playlists and liked songs in your library. The entire app has also been updated visually to display album and playlist artwork clearly, making the entire experience smoother.
For TVs running Android TV OS, which includes the newly released Chromecast with Google TV, there are more features.
First, you can now access your own music uploads (though these need to be uploaded via a computer).
Second, there is a new playback interface that displays artist and song information, along with a progress bar as the music plays.
Finally, the app now integrates with your Android TV home screen so that it has a dedicated row to help you find your next favorite song.
What’s Next for YouTube Music on TVs?
According to YouTube, these new features are just the beginning. It is working on more improvements, including the ability for YouTube Music Premium members to play music in the background after they have closed the app (as is currently possible on mobile).
As more people are stuck indoors and not listening to music on-the-go, it makes sense that Google is making a push to improve its home media streaming options.
YouTube Music is Replacing Google Play Music
At the moment, Google has two music services: YouTube Music and Google Play Music. Both of these serve the same purpose, so Google Play Music is being retired.
On Android TV OS, YouTube Music will be automatically available when the switchover happens at the end of 2020. Alternatively, you can download YouTube Music right now.
Make sure you find out how to handle the change from Google Play Music to YouTube Music.