What you need to know
- Apple Music and YouTube Music both now support the transfer of music playlists.
- On the corresponding support page, both companies shared the process of transferring playlists.
- Currently, the transfer is supported across these music streaming services only.
Apple Music and Google's YouTube Music have partnered to offer their users a hassle-free experience, including the ability to transfer saved playlists across music streaming platforms.
Previously, transferring playlists from one streaming platform to another wasn't that convenient, as it involved third-party apps like Soundiiz and Tune My Music. Such apps also required a fee to transfer songs/ playlists without any restrictions. It might soon change with the newly announced ability for Apple Music and YouTube Music users (via MacRumors).
Users who wish to transfer their playlists from Apple Music to YouTube Music or vice versa can now do so, as both streaming giants have shared the respective step-by-step process through their support pages. Apple account holders can head to their Data and Privacy page and request to "Transfer a copy of your data." Users can then select Apple Music playlists to be transferred to YouTube Music.
Likewise, YouTube Music users will be able to transfer their playlists through the Google Takeout feature. They can similarly follow the onscreen instructions to transfer playlists from YouTube Music to Apple Music. While the process appears hassle-free, there are a few things to keep in mind before transferring.
To make playlist transfer more swift, users must have an active subscription to the aforementioned music streaming platforms. While playlists are transferred quickly, they won't be deleted once the transfer is done. Also, transfers are only possible between Apple Music and YouTube Music, not even Spotify. Users would still have to rely on the above-mentioned third-party services for any music transfer.
The latest transferring feature doesn't support other songs in the library except from the playlists. It is also dependent on song availability across both platforms, meaning that when a song from a playlist isn't available on the other platform that is being shared, users can still be out of luck.
While it is an exciting start to see transferring music to an extent between Apple Music and YouTube Music, it will be more beneficial if other major players in the music streaming industry also collaborate with each other to bring users a unified experience and easy switching between streaming platforms.
