YouTube Music - not amused


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I have just transferred my personal music library from Google Play Music to YouTube Music. After adding YouTube Music to my Sonos app I was horrified to find that I can no longer play my personal music library unless I am prepared to use the ‘Premium’ version of YouTube music. What is going on here and who’s responsible? I had no problem playing music from my personal music library from Google Play Music on my Sonos. 


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That would be a choice made by Google, who owns YouTube, and not Sonos.

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Well whoever made the decision it wasn't a good one. I can be cajoled into something but forced - never. Just as well I can still stream my personal library from my Synology NAS to Sonos. 

It is unfortunate that Sonos has no say in these decisions, I’d certainly agree. It’s also unlikely that anyone from Google/YouTube reads these forums. 

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Found another workaround for this irritation. I can cast from the YouTube app to a chromecast device then play the music through the Sonos Playbar. :wink:

I have exact same problem, I’m not too fussed about a streaming service as i physically buy my music, but the idea of uploading it into GPM and then having access to it via my Sonos is exactly why i bought into it.

Now that GPM is closing, i too have transferred my library over, and i don’t like the YouTube app, to get to your artists you have to click Library > Artists > Uploads, where as GPM, you load the app and the artist button is on the main page once its loaded!

I then attempted to add it on my Sonos app, and like you, says you have to be a premium member! I understand it isn’t Sonos placing this restriction. Just means i need to investigate alternate ways to get access to my library. which is Ok, but i just wanted to keep things simple, which GPM is! I love it! so sad to see it go.

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Agreed pezz 18. As I stated in my previous post you can access you library if you have a Chromecast device. However, it does mean having your TV switched on and something like my Sonos Playbar connected to it. By far the easiest solution is accessing your library through a NAS. In my case that’s Synology. This method works flawlessly. Trying to force consumers into subscription services is a retrograde step in my opinion and only serves to drive people away from a platform. It also reflects badly on companies such as Sonos who have had enough bad press of their own lately. 

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I just transferred my GPM library and was shocked to see that premium is required for YouTube Music, so no thanks.

Also just read that YouTube Music only streams at 128, with 256 option for premium.
I’ll stick with my Amazon Music HD, but sucks that I won’t be able to play local library via GPM after this year.

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I just transferred my GPM library and was shocked to see that premium is required for YouTube Music, so no thanks.

Also just read that YouTube Music only streams at 128, with 256 option for premium.
I’ll stick with my Amazon Music HD, but sucks that I won’t be able to play local library via GPM after this year.

I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiments. I will revert to streaming directly from my Synology NAS to Sonos and most other devices.

Even with the Premium version YTM is garbage. Prior to using GPM I had two NAS devices that both died in less than 24 months each so I moved everything to Google. What model Synology are you using and do they last?

Sadly while I can Chromecast my transferred YT personal music library to my Google Devices my Sonos speakers no longer show up.   So basically that's the end of personal streaming of my music library. 

Yeah, I switched over to YouTube Music because I was told Google Music was ending--  I had uploaded my whole library to Google Music and used that service when using Sonos. Now I have to pay for YouTube Premium? Not happening. Very disappointing and, unfortunately, I am not interested in a complicated work around. A real shame, but I can see that I will be using my Sonos a lot less now.

I've just found the same thing. I have my entire music collection on my PC to stream to Sonos, but sometimes I liked having the albums I'd bought on GPM and Amazon Music available to stream without switching my computer on. Now I find the (luckily only) six or so albums from GPM are no longer going to be available. I'd hoped I'd found an alternative to Amazon for buying albums, but looks like Google have shot themselves in the foot as far as me parting with any more cash is concerned.

I’m in the same hole.  Can’t play music from my iPhone or iPad, GPM is discontinuing and I don’t like YouTube music and don’t want to pay £150 a year just to keep on using the Sonos speaker in the kitchen.  Thinking that the Sonos will go in the bin.

I stored all my music on an NAS, no monthly charges. Used to use my computer’s hard drive, but I found I preferred to shut down the device occasionally. 

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I’m in the same hole.  Can’t play music from my iPhone or iPad, GPM is discontinuing and I don’t like YouTube music and don’t want to pay £150 a year just to keep on using the Sonos speaker in the kitchen.  Thinking that the Sonos will go in the bin.

Oh don’t put a Sonos in the bin!   You could get a NAS and use it to store and stream your music.   Or if you have a wifi router, depending on the router capabilities, you might be able to connect a cheap external hard drive to the router and use it as a NAS.  Worst case, you should have no problem selling the Sonos.  

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Hopefully both Sonos and YTM will (or already have) realise it's in both their interests to allow Sonos and Google to carry on as before and allow users to stream their own content to their speakers and they'll have some dialogue to resolve this.

Don't dismiss the power of individual feedback either though.

Sonos has no ability to influence Google in this matter. Sonos merely provides a conduit by which you are able to reach other companies stream. But they are not part of the decision making process by any other company as to what to provide, or whether it is free or not. 
 

It's a sad backward step. 

NAS drive seems a good option - but they're not cheap are they? 

I notice the app Sonostube lets you cast YouTube videos to listen to the audio on Sonos. Don't know if there's a way of getting at one's private uploads to YouTube that way? 

Probably not. 

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I’m in the same situation. I realise that Sonos is not responsible for what Google or YouTube choose to do, but it is responsible for the services it offers.

I purchased a Sonos system specifically to enable streaming of my own personal music library which I have uploaded to the cloud over many years and keep up to date regularly. It seems I’m not the only one. The reason I want to do it via the cloud is that this allows me to use services other than Sonos, eg, in the car.

Sonos now has no service which allows me to do this. Yes, I could pay for a music streaming service that I don’t want, just to enable the access to my own music, but that would defeat the objective. I am happy that I contribute enough to the music industry by buying physical copies of all my music.

Unless I am missing something? I had a look at Plex but that seemed to just enable streaming from my own PC.

Wish I’d looked at this stream sooner. Just fallen into the same trap. Like everyone else, I’m not going to be strong-armed into shelling out for a Premium account just to play music I’ve already paid for.

Goodbye Google/YTM.

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Wish I’d looked at this stream sooner. Just fallen into the same trap. Like everyone else, I’m not going to be strong-armed into shelling out for a Premium account just to play music I’ve already paid for.

Goodbye Google/YTM.

What’s your plan Baz?

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I’m in the same situation. I realise that Sonos is not responsible for what Google or YouTube choose to do, but it is responsible for the services it offers.

I purchased a Sonos system specifically to enable streaming of my own personal music library which I have uploaded to the cloud over many years and keep up to date regularly. It seems I’m not the only one. The reason I want to do it via the cloud is that this allows me to use services other than Sonos, eg, in the car.

Sonos now has no service which allows me to do this. Yes, I could pay for a music streaming service that I don’t want, just to enable the access to my own music, but that would defeat the objective. I am happy that I contribute enough to the music industry by buying physical copies of all my music.

Unless I am missing something? I had a look at Plex but that seemed to just enable streaming from my own PC.

Any idea how to make sure someone from Sonos sees this? The Sonos service is downgraded by this change. They could do something about it.

Been experimenting with keeping my music offline on an external hard drive plugged into the back of my BT hub and so accessible to all devices.So far seems to work.

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Hopefully both Sonos and YTM will (or already have) realise it's in both their interests to allow Sonos and Google to carry on as before and allow users to stream their own content to their speakers and they'll have some dialogue to resolve this.

Don't dismiss the power of individual feedback either though.

How do we feed back though, other than noising off here? Sonos have made it incredibly difficult to email them.

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I mean send it to Google too.

Looks like there is a ‘Submit feedback’ option at https://music.youtube.com

Airgetlam has asserted above that Sonos has no ability to influence Googe as fact whereas I believe this is just an assumption - unless I can see what it's based on.

To believe two such companies with such interdependencies don't talk or have ANY influence on each other is rather naive in my eyes.