[Update: Rolling out globally] YouTube Music’s Now Playing UI adds powerful ‘Related’ tab

Abner Li | Jun 16 2020 - 8:28 am PT

Just last week, YouTube Music started letting Play Music users import their existing libraries. YouTube Music’s recently revamped Now Playing UI is today picking up a very useful “Related” tab.

Update 6/16: After first appearing last month, Google tells us today that YouTube Music’s “Related” tab is now rolling out globally on Android. It will soon be available for iOS, while the company plans to add “additional features” over time to improve discovery.

At the start of this month, Google redesigned YouTube Music’s Now Playing interface with a cleaner layout that places key controls on one screen. From the bottom, you can slide up to access the “Up Next” queue, while “Lyrics” are one tab over.

YouTube Music now has a “Related” section that lists five songs “You might also like” and a carousel of “Recommended playlists.” “Similar artists” are below, while a “More from” shows other albums, singles, and EPs from who you’re listening to. The last section is an “About the artist” biography. Not all songs will show these four types of suggestions.

Having these recommendations just a tap away completely revamps discovery in YouTube Music. Some of those carousels previously required you to search, start radio, or visit the full artist page. Realistically, especially with the ability to browse other works from an artist, users no longer have to waste time manually navigating.

Meanwhile, it’s useful to just see suggestions for your current tune, while the Related tab also helps highlight the slew of playlists that YouTube Music is home to. Compared to discovery on the Home feed, this new experience is much more straightforward and about what’s already playing.

YouTube Music’s Related suggestions are rolling out via a server-side update today with version 3.65 or later.