YouTube Music is celebrating a decade in the streaming game. The platform is marking the milestone with a handful of updates aimed at helping fans connect with artists and discover new music.
One of the biggest additions is “Taste Match” playlists. These are collaborative playlists that evolve daily based on the listening habits of everyone who joins. Think of it as YouTube Music’s answer to Spotify Blend, letting users explore new songs through shared tastes. It’s a cool feature.
The platform is also opening up community interaction. You can now leave comments on albums and playlists, making the experience more social and giving fans a place to discuss the music they love.
This really sounds interesting to me. Sometimes you get to discover some niche artists that are great but are yet to blow up, and there’s no way to talk about the music with fellow fans easily. I could get behind this.
On the live music side, YouTube Music has partnered with Bandsintown, bringing concert info straight to artist videos, Shorts, and official channels. You’ll now be able to see upcoming shows without leaving the app. Probably won’t have any relevant local stuff and so not too impressed.
Finally, personalised notifications are rolling out, letting users stay updated on releases, merchandise, and events from their favourite artists. I get similar notifications from Spotify, so cool stuff.
For me personally, I’ve been a long-time Spotify user. A YouTube Music subscription (which comes with ad-free YouTube) still isn’t enough to escape the Spotify algorithm. It knows me so well and gives me the most interesting playlists I could ask for, so no new feature would pull me away at this point.
That’s a really sweet deal, $4.49 for both YouTube Music and ad-free YouTube. However, that was a promotion. On a day to day, it’s much more expensive than Spotify in Zimbabwe. Check this out:
That said, it’s still a cool milestone for YouTube Music. Ten years in, and the platform is thinking about how to keep users engaged and connected to artists in ways beyond simple streaming. Time will tell if this works.
Leave a Reply Cancel reply