Google Play Music

145 'Google Play Music' stories May 2012 - June 2017

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Google’s efforts in music have had a number of names before arriving at Play Music in March 2012. The online service consists of a cloud locker, streaming service, and podcast directory. As of February 2015, Google bumped the number of songs users can freely upload from 20,000 to 50,000. Those songs are downloadable and listenable from Android and iOS, as well as a web app.

All Access is a $9.99 per month streaming service that gives users access to 35 millions songs and countless radio channels and playlists. As of 2015, it is available in 63 countries and sold in conjunction with YouTube Red in some regions. Most recently, Play Music added support for podcasts subscribing and listening.

Latest version of Google Play Music crashing at launch for some, Bluetooth likely culprit

Abner Li Jun 27 2017 - 8:16 am PT

Update: An update to Play Music for Android is beginning to rollout this afternoon. Version 7.9.4921 appears to address the Bluetooth issues that some were encountering earlier today. Head to the Play Store to grab the fix.

Last week, version 7.9 of Google Play Music began rolling out with support for notification channels in Android O and a search history shortcut. After an updated version began widely rolling out yesterday, a number of users have reported the app crashing at launch.

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Google Play Music 7.9 supports notification channels in Android O, adds search history

Abner Li Jun 21 2017 - 5:35 pm PT

Version 7.9 of Google Play Music is beginning to rollout with support for notification channels in Android O. Meanwhile, all devices will benefit from the addition of a new way to quickly view search history.

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Google Play Music adds new ‘exclusive’ radio station for Samsung Galaxy S8

Abner Li Jun 19 2017 - 9:35 am PT

Back in April, Google and Samsung announced a partnership that provides Galaxy S8 and S8+ owners with several Play Music exclusives. The latest — a personalized playlist of new music — is beginning to rollout, though it does not appear to be stringently locked down to Samsung devices.

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Google Play Music will be the default music app on the Galaxy S8, Bixby integration coming

Ben Schoon Apr 21 2017 - 7:06 am PT

One of the biggest downsides to buying a Samsung smartphone is bloatware. On top of all the carrier apps, Samsung pre-loads its own collection of applications out of the box. What’s been annoying in the past is that Samsung’s apps simply copied what Google already offered, making them feel completely unnecessary. Thankfully, one of those apps goes away today, thanks to a partnership between Google and Samsung.

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Google Play Music subscription now available in India, undercuts Apple Music

Stephen Hall Apr 6 2017 - 9:53 am PT

Google has today launched Google Play Music subscriptions in India, the service’s biggest expansion in quite some time. Users in India will have access to “over 40 million local and international hits” and — of course — will be able to access the service on Android, iOS, and the web.

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Latest Google Play Music update adds settings for download and Wi-Fi streaming quality

Abner Li Mar 15 2017 - 12:52 pm PT

With the last update adding ‘Recents‘ to the navigation drawer, the latest version of Google Play Music brings the ability to set audio quality when streaming over Wi-Fi, as well as when downloading music for offline access.

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Pandora’s on-demand Google Play Music/Spotify competitor launching this week after Rdio acquisition

Zac Hall Mar 13 2017 - 7:15 am PT

This week Pandora is launching its on-demand music service with features like what other subscription services including Google Play Music and Spotify offer. Before now Pandora has primarily served streaming radio stations based on artists and tracks. Pandora Premium opens the service’s catalog of music up to on-demand access for a monthly fee.

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Google Play Music makes its first original content with ‘City Soundtracks’ podcast

Abner Li Mar 7 2017 - 8:30 pm PT

For the past few years, YouTube has made original content in the form of TV shows and movies for its Red subscription service. Google Play Music is now getting in on the action with an original podcast about music. City Soundtracks focuses on “people, places and moments that shape our musical lives.”

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Google Play Music

Play Music 7.4 adds ‘Recents’ to navigation drawer, now has 40 million songs in library

Abner Li Feb 22 2017 - 5:31 pm PT

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Version 7.4 of Google Play Music is currently rolling out with a number of minor changes, including a spiffy new play animation. This update also adds ‘Recents’ to the navigation drawer.

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Google is hosting block parties in LA & NYC to show off Google Home and Play Music

Justin Duino Feb 10 2017 - 10:09 am PT

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Aside from having the Google Assistant built-in, having a Google Home around the house is great because it features a pretty loud and good sounding speaker. And in Google’s opinion, if you’re going to ever play music on the Home, you might as well stream everything from the company’s streaming service, Play Music.

To demonstrate how well the Home and Play Music work together, Google has announced that it is hosting a couple of block parties in LA and NYC…

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Google merging YouTube and Play Music teams to ‘deliver the best possible product’

Abner Li Feb 8 2017 - 4:34 pm PT

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With nearly identical features, it can be quite confusing whether Play Music or YouTube Music should be used for tunes. Fortunately, Google might be simplifying this situation by combining the two teams to create “the best possible product.”

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Google offering a free 4-month trial of Google Play Music & YouTube Red, a $40 value

Stephen Hall Nov 26 2016 - 12:27 pm PT

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There have been lots of Googley Black Friday deals this weekend — and more are to come this week with Cyber Monday and beyond — but few of those have actually been from Google itself. Now, Google is offering first-time users of Google Play Music a 4-month free trial, a $40 value. And that includes ad-free YouTube in the form of YouTube Red as well…

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Google Play Music redesign uses machine learning to deliver personalized & contextual recommendations

Abner Li Nov 14 2016 - 12:56 am PT

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Following a revamp of Newsstand last week, Play Music is the next app to see a total redesign starting this week. From website to mobile, the service is now “smarter, easier to use, and much more assistive” thanks to the same machine learning smarts leveraged by other Google products.

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Google is teaming up with Runtastic to offer Play Music integration on Android

Edoardo Maggio Oct 7 2016 - 7:18 am PT

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Everybody loves some good music to go with their running or workout sessions, that’s science. However, given the wide array of workout-related apps and the vast selection of music services and streaming programmes, it’s nice to see proper integration between the two things.

And if that’s what you’re looking for, it sounds like Google and Runtastic have an answer for you…

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Android Basics: Use Google Play Music on your phone without using up a device authorization

Justin Duino Sep 30 2016 - 10:50 am PT

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Google launched its music streaming service, Google Play Music, at I/O 2013 and has since improved it by including YouTube Red. With the $10 all-access individual plan, you get unlimited music and an ad-free experience on YouTube, which can be an awesome deal. But Google’s 10 device authorization limit for streaming music can sometimes get in the way…

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Google Play Music update adds a very useful sleep timer for songs and podcasts

Abner Li Aug 24 2016 - 8:54 am PT

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In April, Google added a podcast directory and player to Play Music. The feature is quite barebones, but provides some advanced features like playback syncing and a web client. An update to the Android app adds a sleep timer that is especially useful when listening to music.

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Google Play Music web app adds a sidebar to quickly access and start playlists

Abner Li Aug 19 2016 - 10:28 am PT

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Google Play Music’s web app has remained mostly unchanged since it received a Material redesign last year. While the interface is largely similar to that of the Android app, a small update today (via Android Police) takes better advantage of the extra screen real estate offered by a desktop.

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Google now offering 4 month free trial for Google Play Music/YouTube Red

Ben Schoon Jul 2 2016 - 1:31 pm PT

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If you have yet to try out Google Play Music, or alternatively, YouTube Red, then Google’s latest offer to get you to sign up for the service is certainly one worth looking at. In celebration of July 4th, Google is offering a 4 month subscription to both services completely free of charge.

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Get two months free Google Play Music premium by using TripAdvisor app

Ben Lovejoy May 25 2016 - 5:42 am PT

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If you’re not yet tried Google Play Music, a deal with TripAdvisor lets you get two months of premium subscription free of charge. The offer is to promote a partnership between the two companies which allows you to play music relevant to the city you’re visiting …

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T-Mobile expands Binge On data-free video streaming to Google Play Music, NBC, Spotify, Tidal & more

Jordan Kahn May 17 2016 - 7:51 am PT

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T-Mobile today announced new services being added to its Binge On program, which allows its wireless subscribers to stream video content from certain apps without dipping into their mobile data caps.

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Google Play Music honors Prince by going purple, Android app testing new search bar

Abner Li Apr 22 2016 - 11:02 am PT

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After a months-long wait, Google Play Music finally added podcasts features earlier this week. To pay homage to the passing of music icon Prince yesterday, the web app has since adopted a purple theme. Additionally, some users (via Android Police) are now seeing a new search bar in the Android app.

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Podcasts are now live in Google Play Music & rolling out to Android users, coming soon to iOS

Abner Li Apr 18 2016 - 10:39 am PT

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As leaked by NPR last week, podcasts are now live in Play Music. Google announced the feature last October and podcasters have since been able to upload their shows. Besides just subscribing and listening, Google will apply the same recommendation features for music to podcasts.

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Podcasts reportedly coming to Google Play Music on April 18

Abner Li Apr 14 2016 - 1:26 pm PT

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Google announced in October that podcasts would be coming to Play Music. Since then, Google has been working with podcast networks and podcasters could begin adding their shows. According to NPR (via Android Police), Google will finally launch the feature on April 18th, this coming Monday.

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Shazam gains deeper integration with Google Play Music, offering 3-month Play trial for $1

Abner Li Mar 18 2016 - 8:53 am PT

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Popular song identification app Shazam has announced (via The Verge) deeper Google Play Music integration on Android, as well as a promotion for 3 months of Play Music (which includes YouTube Red) for only $1.

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