Google music
Google Play Music is a music and podcaststreaming service and online music lockeroperated by Google. The service was announced on May 10, 2011, and after a six-month, invitation-only beta period, it was publicly launched on November 16.
Users with standard accounts can upload and listen to up to 50,000 songs from their personal libraries at no cost. An "All Access" subscription, sold in combination withYouTube Red, entitles users to on-demand streaming of any song in the Google Play Music catalogue. Users can purchase additional tracks for their library through themusic store section of Google Play. In addition to offering music streaming for Internet-connected devices, the Google Play Music mobile apps allow music to be stored and listened to offline.
Features
Standard accounts
Google Play Music offers all users storage of up to 50,000 files for free.[1][2] Users can listen to songs through the service's web player andmobile apps.[3] The service scans the user's collection and matches the files to tracks in Google's catalog, which can then be streamed or downloaded in up to 320 kbps quality.[4][5]Any files that are not matched are uploaded to Google's servers for streaming or re-download. Songs purchased through the Google Play Store do not count against the 50,000-song upload limit.[6]
Supported file formats for upload include:MP3, AAC, WMA, FLAC, Ogg, or ALAC. Non-MP3 uploads will be converted to MP3. Files can be up to 300 MB after conversion.[7]
Songs can be downloaded on the mobile apps for offline playback, and on computers through the Music Manager app.[8]
Standard users located in the United States, Canada, and India can also listen to curated radio stations, supported by video and banner advertisements. Stations are based on "an activity, your mood, or your favorite popular music".[9] Up to six songs per hour can be skipped when listening to curated radio.[3]
Premium accounts
With a paid subscription to Google Play Music, in addition to the standard features users get access to on-demand streaming of 40 million songs,[10] without advertisements during listening, no limit on number of skips, and offline music playback on the mobile apps.[3] A one-time 30-day free trial for a subscription to Google Play Music is offered for new users.[11]
Platforms
On computers, music can be listened to from a dedicated Google Play Music section of theGoogle Play website.[12]
On smartphones and tablets, music can be listened to through the Google Play Music mobile app for the Android[13] and iOSoperating systems.[14] Up to five smartphones can be used to access the library in Google Play Music, and up to ten devices total. Listening is limited to one device at a time.[15]
Samsung Galaxy S8
In April 2017, reports surfaced that the default music player on the then-new Samsung Galaxy S8 would be Google Play Music, continuing a trend that started with the S7 in 2016. However, for the S8, Samsung partnered with Google to incorporate additional exclusive features into the app, including the ability to upload up to 100,000 tracks, an increase from the 50,000 tracks users are normally allowed to upload. Google also stated that it would develop other "special features in Google Play Music just for Samsung customers".[16][17] In June, Google Play Music on the S8 was updated to exclusively feature "New Release Radio", a daily, personalized playlist of new music releases.[18][19] In July, the playlist was made available to all users,[20][21] with Google noting in a press release that the exclusivity on Samsung devices was part of an "early access program" for testing and feedback purposes.[22]
Geographic availability
Global availability of Google Play Music
Standard accounts on Google Play Music are available in 63 countries. The full list includes: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.[54]
Premium subscriptions are available in the same countries as Standard accounts.[54]
Availability of music was introduced in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain in October 2012,[55] Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Russia, and Switzerland in September 2013,[56] Mexico in October 2013,[57] Germany in December 2013,[58] Greece, Norway, Sweden, and Slovakia in March 2014,[59]Canada,[60] Poland and Denmark in May 2014,[61] Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, and Ukraine in July 2014,[62] Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, El Salvador, and Venezuela in August 2014,[63] Brazil and Uruguay in September 2014,[64] 13 new countries in November 2014,[65] Brazil in November 2014,[66] Argentina in June 2015,[67]Japan in September 2015,[68] South Africa and Serbia in December 2015,[69] and India in September 2016, where only purchasing of music was offered.[70] The All Access subscription service launched in India in April 2017.[71][72]
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