YouTube Music Review

Earlier today, I signed up for Youtube’s new music streaming service, Youtube Music. Here is my honest review. I promise you that nobody paid me. I’m no shill. I’m doing this shit for free.

Reminiscent of Spotify

The colors, the layout, the free version (with ads), and the vast availability of music reminds me a lot of Spotify. Artist profiles are not as personalized or robust, but the music is there. However, it seems they’re placing a bit more of an emphasis on music videos, something Spotify and Apple Music have failed to capitalize on or even really integrate. 

The Price is Just Right

Google Play Music and YouTube Music each cost $9.99/month. However, subscribe to one, and you’re automatically subscribed to the other if it’s available in your country — so it’s just $9.99/month total for both services. That’s one hell of a deal. In comparison, Spotify’s Premium plan costs $9.99/month, as does Apple Music.

App & Online Player

YouTube’s app functioned flawlessly for me, and YouTube’s online player seemed to work just as well. Here is one area YouTube dominates. Spotify’s web player is clunky and never seems to work as well as their app. This is not an issue for most, but for those of you with a Chromebook, this is something to think about.

Top Track Confusion

The only area I’m still unsure about is artist’s songs. On Spotify it shows every artists top 10 tracks (why only 10?! I’ll never know), but on YouTube, it just says songs, and then once you click on it, it seems to take you to all artist’s tracks. So, I’m not sure if this implies that these are the artist’s top tracks or just a random vault of all their songs. Either way, this seems to be a very easy problem to correct. 

Closing Thoughts

I am not leaving Spotify anytime soon, mainly because of the playlists (both mine and theirs). But, Spotify should still be nervous. YouTube seems to be serious about their music service, and if they’re able to effectively integrate music videos into their platform, Spotify and Apple Music might be toast. Stay tuned. 


“We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.” — Sagan

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Charles Johnson

Independent journalist from Far West Texas.