YouTube Music Can Now Play Local Music

Both YouTube Music and Google Play Music belong to Google’s portfolio of music streaming services. While the latter one can play local music stored, the former does not possess this ability even though it has already been introduced in India.

According to 9to5Google, the company has added this feature to the Android version of the YouTube Music app. It will appear to more users soon. What you have to do is to update the app if you have already had it and go to the Library tab and agree to “Allow YouTube Music to access and play music files.” Please bear in mind that this special offer is for YouTube Premium users only.

When users have allowed the app to tap to your own music tracks, there will be another tab called the Device files near the regular YT Music in Albums, Songs, Artists, and Playlists.

From what we can see on the MSPoweruser’s screenshot, there are two tabs instead of one like before. One is YT Music, the other is Device Files, which is where users’ own songs are stored.

However, even when you can play your own songs on the app, they will be not be treated in the way YT tracks are. You can play them, but there is no way to add them to queues or even playlists. You cannot cast them to any device other than the one with the app either.

This feature is currently on Android only, and it seems like it is a server-side switch, meaning not many users have access to it. Tricks like downloading the updated APK does not work either. It is possible that this upgrade is restricted to certain regions only. If this turns out to be true, you may not have the chance to use it on your app.