Are You Confused By All of Google’s Music Services? Me, Too. This Will Help.
I’ve long given up trying to keep track of all the music services under the Google umbrella. YouTube. YouTube Music. YouTube Red. Google Play Music. YouTubeMusic Key. Google Play Music All Access. Songza. I’m so confused.
Fortunately, Lifehacker has managed to untangle all these intertwined services.
Last week, Google launched YouTube Music to a few cheers, a few groans, and a lot of “don’t they already have a music service?” In fact, they have several: Google Play Music and YouTube Red, for starters. But don’t be fooled—they seem separate, but they actually complement one another.
Between the new YouTube Music, recently-unveiled YouTube Red, Google Play Music, and the Google Play Store, no one could blame you for being a little confused about where you should listen to your music and where you should spend your money. Toss the old names for some of these services into the mix, like “YouTube Music Key” (now YouTube Red) and “Google Play Music All Access” (now just Google Play Music and both great examples of how badly Google sucks at naming things) and it’s no wonder people are confused.
I found it so weird that you subscribe to Google Play Music, and while you’re trying to stream with it, it’s trying to sell you digital copies of albums.