If you’re looking to start using YouTube Music or are a loyal user who wants to improve your music experience on the streaming platform, you may want to tweak a few essential settings that can transform your streaming.
YouTube Music, which is available on several devices, can help you have a highly customized listening experience if you know where to look. Here are the top changes I recommend.
Transfer playlists from other platforms
The first thing you may want to do when you start using YouTube Music as a new user is to move any existing playlists from other music streaming apps. But you don’t need to search for a third-party transfer website to make this shift easy; YouTube Music uses TuneMyMusic to do it for you.
In the YouTube Music mobile or desktop app, select your profile picture, then go to “Settings.” Choose “Privacy and Data” and select “Transfer playlists from other apps” (for mobile) or “Import your playlists” (for desktop). You can then pick a streaming service listed (Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, Tidal, etc.) and follow the on-screen instructions for the transfer.
Change the audio quality
To get the best streaming quality, it’s better to tweak your audio settings before you start listening. On YouTube Music, you can set the audio quality for streaming on Wi-Fi and mobile data. Unfortunately, YouTube Music doesn’t offer lossless audio yet, so make sure you get the best out of the app’s existing audio settings.
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On the mobile app, select your YouTube Music profile, then select Settings > Data Saving (or Playback and Restrictions for iOS) > Audio Quality on Wi-Fi. Finally, choose “High” or “Always High” from the drop-down menu. You can change the audio quality to “High” for mobile data streaming as well.
You can also set the download quality for mobile devices to be higher. For this, go to Settings > Downloads and storage > Audio Quality and choose “High.”
For the desktop app, go to Settings > Playback > Audio Quality and choose “High.”
Filter out liked YouTube videos
On the YouTube Music app, you can filter out your liked videos from the YouTube app. If you don’t do this, it makes it difficult to have a streamlined YouTube Music library because it adds music videos that you have marked with a thumbs up on YouTube to your “Your Likes” playlist.
On the mobile app, go to your profile and tap Settings > Recommendations (Playback and Restrictions for iOS), and toggle off “Show your liked music from YouTube”.
On desktop, go to Settings > General and toggle off “Show your liked music from YouTube.”
Enable Dynamic Queue
An incredible feature that has helped me discover new songs that actually align with my tastes, instead of music that has nothing to do with my library, is Dynamic Queue. This discovery feature updates your radio and queue based on your listening behavior, so recommendations are better aligned to your evolving music taste.
To enable Dynamic Queue on the YouTube Music app for mobile and desktop, go to your profile and tap Settings > Playback (Playback and Restrictions for iOS). Toggle on “Dynamic Queue.”
Refine your recommendations
There are many ways to improve your YouTube Music recommendations, and the easiest one to try is sitting right in your settings. YouTube Music lets you fine-tune your recommendations by picking your favorite artists and updating them whenever you want, so your recommendations match your evolving tastes. You can also personalize podcast recommendations.
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Mix all your music in one playlist.
To use this feature on the mobile app, go to your profile and tap Settings > Recommendations > Improve your music recommendations. Then, pick five artists you are into, then tap “Done.” Go back and tap “Improve your podcast recommendations” and do the same. This feature helps manually improve the algorithm for suggestions and song recommendations, and you can keep going back to update your five picks.
For desktop, you can find the “Improve your music recommendations” option by clicking on your profile and going to Settings > Recommendations.
Stick to audio streaming
If you’re looking to separate YouTube Music from your YouTube app by reserving it for audio streaming, then make sure that you switch off videos for music and podcasts. YouTube Music will then switch music videos to audio-only or album versions of the songs, and switch podcast videos to audio-only episodes, if available.
On the mobile app, go to Settings > Data Saving (Playback and Restrictions on iOS). From here, toggle on “Don’t play music videos” and “Don’t play podcast videos.”
Tweak equalizer settings
Android YouTube Music users can go a step further in customizing their streaming with an exclusive feature. When you install YouTube Music on your Android device, make sure you check and refine the equalizer settings for the app.
To access equalizer settings on Android, go to Settings > Playback > Equalizer. From here, toggle on the “Equalizer” to adjust the jazz, bass, and surround sound using the scroll bar and equalizer levels.
YouTube Music is a great audio streaming platform to look into, especially if you’re considering YouTube Premium, since the music app is included with a Premium subscription. You can opt in for a one-month introductory free trial as a new user, or if you canceled a YouTube Premium, Music Premium, or Premium Lite membership at least six months ago.
- Subscription with ads
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No, plans are ad-free
- Live TV
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No
YouTube Music seamlessly integrates with YouTube, allowing you to access over 100 million titles. It comes with a 30-day free trial, and even its free tier supports skippable ads.
