The streaming platforms war is ongoing and fiercer than ever. Music platforms are battling for users, which means they don’t cooperate well with each other. This is bad news for users with multiple streaming services, as they must set everything up from scratch on each platform.
However, there’s one exception. Even though Apple and Google aren’t exactly on friendly terms, they’ve made it possible for users to transfer Apple Music playlists to YouTube Music.
If you’re using both services and want to avoid creating your playlists twice, stick around to learn how to transfer your Apple Music playlists to YouTube Music.
What You Need to Know Before Transferring Your Playlists on Apple Music
Transferring Apple Music playlists to YouTube Music is as easy as visiting a specialized page. However, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Limited to available content: Only songs already available on YouTube Music can be included. Other audio files, such as podcasts or audiobooks, won’t be transferred.
- Subscription required: You need an active subscription to both Apple Music and YouTube Music (Premium). Simply installing Apple Music, creating a playlist, and transferring it isn’t enough—you must be subscribed. Unlike Spotify, which offers a free tier, Apple Music is entirely subscription-based.
- Only your playlists: You can only transfer the playlists you’ve created. Collaborative or curated playlists won’t be transferred. Also, the service won’t move your music files. It just searches for matching songs in YouTube Music to replicate your original playlist.
How to Export Your Apple Music Playlists to YouTube Music
Apple has made the transfer process straightforward. All you need to do is initiate the transfer through Apple’s official tool, and your playlists will appear in YouTube Music within minutes.
Here’s exactly what you need to do:
- Go to Apple’s Data and Privacy page, and sign in to your Apple Account.
- Select Transfer a copy of your data.
- Select Apple Music Playlists (to YouTube Music).
- Click Next.
- The service will automatically select your playlists. Just click Continue to proceed.
- Sign into your Google Account and grant access to YouTube Music.
- Click Confirm Export.
That’s it! Depending on how many songs and playlists you have, the transfer may take anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours. Once the process is complete, you’ll receive a confirmation email.
Keep in mind that transferring your playlists to YouTube Music is a one-time action, not a sync. Any changes made to your playlists in Apple Music won’t reflect in YouTube Music. If you want to update your playlists on YouTube Music, you’ll need to repeat the transfer process from the beginning.
This collaboration between Apple Music and YouTube Music is definitely a step in the right direction. But Apple Music is still pretty much closed to other services. For example, the only way to import Spotify playlists to Apple Music is through a third-party service, something we hope should change in the future.