Once you’ve built up a library of content on streaming services, especially music, it can seem impossible to move on to others. Playlists, favorite tracks, listening history – all the important stuff usually doesn’t transfer over, so you’re starting from scratch if and when you switch. For someone with years of experience in a department, this can be a real deterrent to trying something new. But depending on the tools available, it may be possible to have a relatively smooth exchange. At least that’s certainly the case with YouTube Music Premium.
If you’re a YouTube Premium member, you can transfer playlists at no extra cost through a third-party tool called Tune My Music. You can also use alternatives like Soundiiz or Free Your Music. This means that if you previously used Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Pandora or any other additional services, you can transfer content to YouTube Music. This way you can switch or try the new service, but you’re not actually starting over. You can also do the opposite, if you’re tired of dealing with some of the drawbacks of using YouTube Music compared to other options.
For the most part, the tools are intuitive and work the same way. You log into your accounts, like Spotify and YouTube, select the playlists or content you want to transfer, make sure you choose the appropriate destination service – in this case YouTube Music – and off you go. There are premium plans or tiers available for most tools, with restrictions on free transfers, so keep that in mind. But given that there are plenty of reasons to upgrade to YouTube Music over other services, and you’re probably paying a monthly subscription anyway, the premium cost of transfer tools is probably worth it.
How much do these third-party tools cost?
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There is a difference between free and premium tiers for most of these tools. They tend to limit the number of tracks you can transfer at once, sometimes per playlist, and deny access to some useful features, like automatic syncing of connected services, so you never have to update them manually.
TuneMyMusic is free for YouTube Premium subscribers, but if you’re not one, you can transfer up to 500 songs for free, or opt for the premium plan at $2 per month billed annually ($24) or $5.50 per month. The premium plan offers unlimited transfers, automatic service synchronization, and a few other additions. For a quick comparison, Soundiiz allows transferring up to 200 tracks per playlist on the free tier, but for $3.25 per month billed annually ($39) or $5 per month billed monthly, you get premium with unlimited transfers. Soundiiz also offers paid bulk or instant transfers, as well as management tools to edit and adjust albums, artists and tracks individually. Free Your Music lets you move up to 600 songs or a single playlist for free, without a credit card. From there, it’s $4 per month ($50 per year) for unlimited transfers, auto-sync, cloud backup, and more. Free Your Music also offers quarterly and one-time lifetime payment options.
These tools also work in reverse if you want to transfer your music to them from YouTube Music or another service. It’s good to know that these tools support transferring content from most, if not all, major music streaming services. You’re never stuck with just one platform. Other notable music services supported include Deezer, Amazon Music, Qobuz, SoundCloud, iTunes, Yandex, etc.
