Starting on July 8, free YouTube Music users will lose access to the Canadian-exclusive ability to use background playback. Following this change, users will need to subscribe to YouTube Music or YouTube Premium.
News of this change was first reported by Android Police. According to recent news, Google appears to be making intregal changes to YouTube Music. Alongside the removal of free background playback, users will also require a YouTube Music or YouTube Premium subscription to use Apple Carplay and Android Auto.
However, to counterbalance the changes, Google is adding a few perks to YouTube Music’s free plan. For instance, users will soon have access to on-demand music. Though, they’ll be peppered with ads. Users will also soon have access to music video streams, access to the Samples tab, and more. Currently, YouTube Music’s free tier only enables access for shuffle playback.
Users on Reddit claim to have received a message from YouTube, confirming the imminent change. “Starting on July 8, 2024, you will be able to enjoy music on demand (instead of shuffle only), watch music videos, unlock new features like the Samples tab and continue to enjoy your favourite music with made-for-you playlists and mixes on YouTube Music, all free of charge,” the message reads.
In 2021, Google brought YouTube Music’s free background playback feature to Canada as an experiment. The ability to listen to radio stations while navigating outside of the app for free never hit other countries. Unfortunately, there’s yet to be any firm reason why Google is suddenly making this change. While the removal of this ability may sting some users, it’s not every day that new perks get added to a free streaming tier.
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