There are plenty of ways to enjoy streaming music online, but the sheer amount of services available can be confusing for some. Do you go with Apple Music? Amazon Prime Unlimited? Spotify?
And to make things more complicated, sometimes the best choice will depend on which devices you have. Apple users will benefit more from using Apple Music across their iPhones and Macs, for example. Tap or click here to see how streaming music services compare.
But users of Google Play Music are in for a world of hurt this year, as Google begins to move into the final stages of shutting down its music service. Google and Android users will now be corralled into using YouTube Music instead, which means all those songs you’ve gathered over the years could be lost forever. Here’s what you need to do to save them.
Google to shut down Google Play Music for good
According to a new post on YouTube’s official blog, Google is in the process of finally shuttering Google Play Music. The music service, which has since been replaced by YouTube Music, is set to begin shutdown during September of this year in Australia and New Zealand. The rest of the world, however, will have until October to enjoy their songs and playlists.
Google, however, is giving you a bit more time to save and transfer music out of the service. As of now, the clock is ticking down until December of this year. Unfortunately, Google hasn’t given an exact date in December that we can expect the transfer window to close.
YouTube Music is a decent platform in its own right, so the move may not be too traumatic to newcomers looking to explore Google’s music offerings. But for those of us with extensive music collections in Google Play Music, the loss of the streaming service might seem like a nightmare unto itself.
Fortunately, Google is providing a special tool to help you make the move. It’s totally free to use, and all it requires is your login information.
How can I save all my music and playlists from Google Play Music?
Google’s Takeout tool makes it relatively simple to move your entire library over from Google Play Music to YouTube Music. The process is automated through your Google Account, so you’ll need to make sure you have your username and password handy before beginning.
This video from Google will guide you through the process of importing your tracks and playlists:
As useful as this is, transferring your music doesn’t prevent it from being lost the next time Google decides to shut down a service in favor of a new one.
For a more permanent backup solution, it’s worth setting up your own personal music server with a backup of all of your favorite tunes. All you need is a Network Attached Storage device and a piece of software called Plex to get started. This keeps your music in a cloud storage system that can be accessed online.
And best of all, we have a full guide on setting up your own music server right here on Komando.com.
Tap or click here to see the steps to set up your own personal music server.
