Review of YouTube Music App
In our text, Vahid and Lysecky 2017, stated that "In 2016, streaming music hit 251.9 billion streams and accounted for 38% of all audio consumption, becoming the largest share of audio consumption. Also, 80% of the U.S. population streamed music in 2016, an increase of 76% from 2015" (sec. 6.2, para. 4). Many kinds of music streaming services around, such as Amazon Music, Pandora, Apple Music, IHeartRadio, etc. I have found that the relatively new YouTube Music app to be one of the best out. This app incorporates both playlist and on-demand streaming.
YouTube Music recently replaced Google Play Music, which was usually pre-loaded onto android devices as the primary music player. YouTube music's predecessor was a decent streaming app, but it had many bugs that needed to be addressed such as some music not streaming, not having adequate licensing rights to many sounds, to name a few. Now, the YouTube Music app seems to have addressed all of these issues while adding some additional features. It includes features that we have all grown to love with Pandora, such as creating a playlist tailored to the user by suggesting music/artist to the user, similar to what the user streamed previously. It gives you the option to like or dislike sounds so the app can learn what to stream in the future. It also provides the opportunity to add music to a personal library or playlist for quick future reference, similar to what Google Play Music offered. The newest feature that is usable is the feature to select any song and toggle between the songs' official music video or to listen to the song. (See Figure 1). The app allows you to upload your music through the app to be added to YouTube. The app also allows you to view the same content on a PC/Laptop with the same design.
Figure 1
This screenshot shows the home screen of the app. Content differs per user and app current suggestions.
The design follows a similar style to that of the YouTube website. The color scheme stays true red and black, making the app seem a little more soothing. The app still focuses its' homepage on displaying new music within your preferred genres and popular music while still having your playlist at the top (See Figure 2). This allows for seamless functionality as the app is clean, straightforward, and relatively easy to navigate. The developers made sure to attempt to remove unnecessary in-app links to avoid confusion. When selecting an artist, in this case, Sam Smith (See Figure 3), you can easily navigate through a radio of artists similar to Sam Smith, play his music specifically, and see what his most popular releases are. When streaming a playlist, you have the option to cycle through the queued songs or open the queue to select a song that you wish to listen to now. The app stays current on all the new releases as it is directly linked to YouTube, where most artists release their songs to generate publicity and revenue.
Figure 2
This screen record demonstrates the app's feature to toggle between music videos and songs.
Figure 3
This screenshot demonstrates what you first see when selecting an artist and your options for streaming.
With all of these great features, there is still some recommendation that I believe will assist in the functionality, design, and usability. First, when using the app to stream music, the app will not autosave the previous song/playlist in the queue if the app isn't used for some time. This doesn't allow you to stream your music seamlessly if you are using the app for your primary streaming service while driving, instead of the radio. You must manually enter the app and select the playlist/library/artist you were listening to previously. This takes away time for your commute. Second, the shuffle feature should be made so that it's easier to select. The shuffle option is tucked away and only assessable when viewing the entire queue list, which you must manually select to navigate to. This feature isn't suitable for streamers looking for a handsfree experience that Apple Music, Google Play Music, and Pandora offers. The final recommendation for improvement is to give people the option to have more control over their recommendation list. If you were to dislike a song, the app would take away many other songs similar to it, and you may miss out on songs that you may have liked. Adding a feature in the app to review the songs you disliked/liked and reverse your previous option will make the app more functional.
Overall, the YouTube app is in the right direction for what we expect from our music streaming services. It still has more features than it's competitors don't offer.
References
Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. (2017). Computing technology for all. Retrieved from zybooks.zyante.com/
YouTube Music. (n.d.). Retrieved October 06, 2020, from https://music.youtube.com/
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