Today , Google shared a detailed schedule for the shutdown of Google Play Music. For New Zealand and South Africa users, and for users across the entire country in October, access will be revoked in September. Come December, you will not be in a position to transfer your content, the service will shut down completely. Furthermore, Google won't accept music shopping in its play store from later this month.
Google is now taking these big steps because it is replacing its YouTube Music service.
It just a few months ago allowed Google Play Music users, including playlists, artists, albums, songs, bought contents, recommendations and uploads, to move virtually all facets of their libraries into the new service.
The first time you have opened the YouTube Music app is as simple as transfering all this content. You will see something similar to the above screen but we have a way to deal with this if you need more help.
Google has promised that before play music stops, it will give a lot of advice, so it's doing well.
You can keep the service up and running until it stops, but you find YouTube Music pre-installed in place of Google Play Music when you get a new Android 10 device up. So, before you are forced to do so, you could start the change process.
As Chris Welch, in May, wrote when Google announced the YouTube Music transfer tool:
Open Google Music for a little while and remember the nice times. It is like an old, comforting friend, who is frozen in the sand of time and has been ignored for so long. However, don't be fooled: its days have been numbered. It's time to get on with it. Take a profound breath and hit the transfer button.
