It was a well-known fact that Google Play Music will cease to exist by the end of 2020. However, this week the tech giant started actually shut down parts of its cloud music service. Google wants people to start using YouTube Music.
Importantly, the gradual shutdown started on October 12. The Google Play Music Store is the “victim”. As a reminder, thanks to Music Store it was possible to purchase music for playback and download, as opposed to the all-can-eat rental services that dominate the music landscape today. People should keep in mind that, the tech giant is getting out of the business of selling entirely. It now only offers a rental service through YouTube Music.
Another big feature that ceased to exist is music playback on Google Home and Nest Audio speakers. Interestingly, the Music app still works. The people have the opportunity to start a playback through Chromecast. However, a user can no longer start music by voice through Google Assistant devices.
Interestingly, if a person spends time digging into the Assistant settings, he or she will find something interesting. They will find that the Play Music option completely disappeared. Moreover, now the only supported services for voice commands are YouTuve Music, Pandora, Deezer as well as Spotify.
Google Play Music and the full timeline
Let’s have a look at the full timeline to learn more about the situation. Starting from late August, users are not able to upload or download music through Music Manager. Moreover, from the same month, customers lost the opportunity when it comes to pre-ordering and purchasing music.
From last month, streaming is no longer available for users in New Zealand and South Africa. This month, the tech giant will discontinue global streaming. Moreover, Google Music App and website will cease to exist. This is not the end of the story, as Google Music is scheduled to completely shut down sometime this month. However, users have the opportunity to save their music collections. The tech giant will wipe out all Music collections in December 2020. It means people still have time to take care of their beloved songs.
It is quite simple to save a music collection. Users have to visit music.youtube.com/transfer and click a few buttons to start the YouTube Music transfer process. Interestingly, the Music account will continue to work even after the transfer. There is no need to worry about the collections.
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