YouTube Music has announced a much-needed redesign of its website, which now looks more like the regular YouTube homepage. The collapsible side navigation drawer allows users to access saved playlists quickly and efficiently. The new menu will appear in the navigation drawer rather than the top app bar. The playlist feature will now show 50 playlists, allowing users to listen to their favorite content with ease. Hovering over a playlist brings up a play button to start playback. YouTube Music also preserves the last open/close state between visits. The app bar includes a search field for songs, albums, artists and podcasts, while Cast is still available in the top right.
The overhaul of the web experience is the first major redesign since its launch in 2018 and places YouTube Music on par with its competitors. While YouTube Music has an ad-supported free tier since 2015, the paid-for service is YouTube Music Premium costing $9.99/£9.99/AU$11.99. YouTube Music has significantly lower subscriber numbers than its direct rivals, Spotify and Apple Music, with just 80 million subscribers, including both free, paid-for, and trial memberships.
YouTube Music’s nifty features, including the ability to turn queues into playlists and Wear OS streaming, have earned praise, but the casting feature needs improvement. As rivals Spotify and Apple Music continue to innovate with AI DJ and Continuity Camera, respectively, YouTube Music has to do something significant to keep up.
The new redesign is the beginning of a revamped YouTube Music experience and should increase subscriber numbers, making it more competitive. By making the Music platform look more like its hugely popular video-streaming platform, YouTube has taken the first step in acknowledging the need to upgrade and invest in its music offerings.
