Not so fast: Google hits pause on transferring files to YouTube Music

When Google announced last month it was actually moving forward with its intention to nix Google Play Music and force people to transfer their files to YouTube Music, people were unhappy. And skeptical. And very curious whether this was a great idea or a disaster waiting to happen. 

Looks like we’re all going to have to wait a little longer, as the whole operation is now being delayed, due to capacity issues. 

First, Google made it clear that people would be invited, on an individual basis, to start transferring their files from GPM to YouTube Music. But once those invites started going out, within the past few weeks, it apparently overloaded the system. 

Now it’s all mucked up. 

“Those transferring… are met with a new warning on the YouTube Music status page: ‘Due to high demand, transfers are delayed.’ This message did not appear when the tool first launched, and now it shows up immediately after you start the process. It’s likely geared toward users that have transferred in the past, but are now facing an extended wait,” 9to5Google reports. 

Some people are also saying it’s taking ages for their files to transfer. People with more select (aka smaller) libraries might have the whole process completed in an hour or two; at least one person said it took four days to make the switch. 

But there are other concerns, of course. 

“YouTube Music eats through battery life and seems to struggle more with voice commands” than Google Play Music, according to Digital Music News. “Some users report not being able to use voice commands in Android Auto — while others say the feature works flawlessly. The constant fragmenting of Google services extends well beyond its music approach, too.” 

Granted, no matter how annoying this is, or how long it takes to move files, it ultimately doesn’t matter how much GPM fans complain, or wait, or how long it takes for files to transfer, or how bad the interface is. Google has made it clear that GPM will be heading to the internet and app graveyard by the end of this year. We just don’t know how long we have to prepare ourselves for the end. 

Of course, if you don’t want to transfer files, we outlined some alternatives here.

Have you tried transferring files yet? How did it go? Any success stories? We want to hear!