YouTube Music to Offer Background Music Playback For Free, But There’s A Catch

Google has announced that it is rolling out the background music listening feature to free YouTube Music accounts. Users in Canada will be the first to enjoy this functionality without paying for the subscription. Prior to this update, switching to another app or locking your phone halted music playback for those with free membership. As you would have guessed, this was super annoying as you couldn’t reply to a text or surf the web without interrupting the music playback. On the official YouTube Blog, the company has stated that this move is driven by user feedback.

YouTube Music Background Playback Coming To Non-Premum Accounts

With the background playback feature being extended to all users, YouTube Music is catching up with Spotify, which offered a similar feature right from the get-go. More recently, Spotify has also introduced video podcasts on its platform to take on YouTube. It even signed exclusive deals with high-profile podcasters including Joe Rogan to get them off Google’s platform.

The free version of YouTube Music provides access to over 70 million songs including live performances, covers, and remixes. You can choose from thousands of playlists across various genres. The app offers quick shortcuts to mixes meant for workouts, parties, relaxation, and more. Plus, you can explore new content via Discover Mix and New Release Mix. The free version is ad-supported, which means that you will listen to some audio ads between songs.

YouTube Music Background Playback Availability

The feature will be made available to users in Canada starting on November 3, 2021. At this point, Google hasn’t stated when this feature will be made available to users across the globe. Those who wouldn’t mind paying can subscribe to YouTube Music Premium for ₹99 per month. The company also offers a ₹149 per month ‘Family Plan’ that allows up to five members from the same household to play music and store offline music on their devices.