Summary
- Some YouTube Music users are seeing a new notification bell icon at the top of the app’s main menu next to the search button.
- Tapping this bell icon takes you to an Activity feed that shows new music releases in chronological order, enhancing the user experience.
- Google is also working on a feature to search by humming, but YouTube Music still faces challenges with lyrics and other features.
YouTube Music is just one of many Google services, and it’s up against steep competition from other music streaming platforms, notably Spotify and Apple Music. Despite this, the service has managed to develop a loyal audience with similar features, likely surpassing Apple Music in subscriber count. Now, it seems that a new one is being added to further enhance the user experience.
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As some YouTube Music app users noted on Reddit, a notification bell icon has appeared next to the search button at the top of the main menu, which seems to indicate the release of new music (via 9to5Google). While not everyone has the feature just yet, those who do have found that tapping on the icon launches an “Activity” feed. Here, new releases from subscribed artists appear in chronological order — the feed is organized by music from “This week” and “Earlier.” This eliminates an existing issue involving the inability to return to dismissed notifications that may have tipped you off to new music.
How YouTube Music is refining its offerings
Although YouTube Music might not get as much hype as other streaming platforms, Google is doing its best to entice users with more unique features. For instance, it seems that a tool is in the works that will allow you to hum a song to search for it on the platform. Google Search has notably had a similar feature for years, suggesting that it only makes sense for it to come to YouTube Music.
However, the service still has some flaws that have allowed its competitors to maintain their edge. For instance, Spotify has been allowing its users to access real-time lyrics during playback, which YouTube Music has had to scramble to rival. While it has struck a deal with Musixmatch to provide lyrics, the rollout has been far from seamless.
It goes without saying that the Google-owned streaming platform could use a little refining. With some improvements and quick fixes, YouTube Music could begin to chip away at the competition — but with many other projects on Google’s plate, it wouldn’t be surprising to see these issues placed on the back burner.
