Apple Music now supports the direct transfer of playlists to YouTube Music, marking its first venture into facilitating playlist migration to a competing service.
This new feature, highlighted in a support document discovered by MacRumors, enables users to transfer their Apple Music playlists to YouTube Music, provided they have active subscriptions to both Apple Music (or iTunes Match) and YouTube Music.
However, there are limitations to this feature. Only songs that are available on YouTube Music can be transferred. This restriction excludes audio files such as podcasts, audiobooks, curated playlists, non-collaborative shared playlists, and personalized music files. Additionally, any folder structures set up within Apple Music to organize playlists cannot be transferred.
Users can begin the transfer process by logging into Apple’s Data and Privacy page, selecting the option to “Transfer a copy of your data,” and following the on-screen instructions. The duration of the transfer varies depending on the number of playlists, ranging from a few minutes to several hours.
Third-Party Tools Still Needed for Other Services
Despite this new capability, Apple Music still lacks the ability to transfer playlists directly to other music streaming services such as Spotify or Amazon Music, necessitating the use of third-party tools for these platforms. Nonetheless, recent developments suggest that Apple may be exploring broader playlist transfer options.
Earlier this year, Reddit users observed an Apple Music on Android update that allowed the use of the third-party service SongShift, enabling users to move playlists from Spotify and other services to Apple Music.
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