Ever since the beginnings of the migration from Google Play to YouTube Music, the latter has received many complaints. However, as reported by Arstechnia Google has responded to these and says it is working hard to address issues. The company claims it will share some updated features in the near future.
The migration across has been fraught with issues for Google. First YouTube Music received complaints about the length of time it took to transfer libraries. Some users experienced hours of waiting. Then there were issues with features in the app such as a broken sidebar.
Google release statement regarding YouTube Music complaints
In response to many of the complaints, the company has received Google released a positive statement. It began by recognizing the problems many people are facing. It said, “we understand that uploaded content is an integral part of the listening experience for many of our users across YouTube Music.”
Continuing to state “we’re working hard to address these feature gaps and bring additional functionality to our free tier user”. The final sentence hints at updates in the near future. It said, “we look forward to sharing more updates soon”.
It has been noted that this is quite a vague statement from Google. The response does not address any specific issues, also it does not really hint at any solutions in detail.
Google may address free-versus-premium feature changes
One of the main issues for users was the discrepancies in features between free and premium tiers with Google Play and YouTube Music. The most controversial being the need to pay a monthly fee to play already purchased music on a Google speaker.
Originally, Google simply reaffirmed the restrictions currently in place. Now it looks like they are going to address these problems and make previously premium features accessible to free users.
According to YouTube Music Product Manager Brandon Bilinski, the migration is about merging branding and infrastructure. It is not designed to take a harder line on paid subscriptions or a strategy change.
The main takeaway from this news is that Google is certainly aware of the issues this migration is causing. Previous to this it felt to many as if complaints fell on deaf ears.
Now, although there has been no confirmation or commitment to specific changes it is likely we will see some. Exactly what these will be, remains to be seen. However, it is likely Google will address the feature gaps moving from Google Play to YouTube Music.
Users would certainly appreciate a timeline or some formal announcement on what these changes may be. Given Google Play Music will shut down in October there is not much time for the company to make changes.
Some may be looking to go elsewhere so the company will need to act fast if it is to keep its existing customer base.