7 basic features that are MIA on YouTube Music

If you have a YouTube Premium subscription, you can access YouTube Music as it is available with the membership. It offers good integration across most platforms and devices, like phones, tablets, laptops, and computers. Although YouTube Music includes singles, albums, and playlists from mainstream artists and local musicians, it’s still missing some crucial features like crossfade, hi-res audio, light mode, and more. Here’s what YouTube Music should add for a more complete music experience.

7

YouTube Music doesn’t support crossfade

The awkward silence between songs ruins the flow

A crossfade provides a seamless transition from one track to another to fill the silence between songs. While many music apps like Spotify and Apple Music have this feature, it’s sorely missing from YouTube Music. The awkward gaps between tracks can interrupt the flow and create a jarring experience when listening to your playlist. YouTube can easily add a crossfade for smoother transitions.

6

YouTube Music is missing hi-res audio

Audiophiles will have to look to other music streaming platforms

Although streamed music is decent on the web and the app version of YouTube Music, the service lacks hi-res audio. By default, YouTube Music streams music in Normal audio quality, with a bitrate of 128kbps. You can save data while streaming from your phone by changing it to Low quality, which has a bitrate of 48kbps. You can select High, which has a bitrate of 256kbps, for the best quality audio. Still, YouTube Music’s highest bitrate is lower than that of its competitors like Spotify and Tidal.

Another disadvantage is that YouTube Music relies on AAC-compressed audio, which can lead to a loss of detail and clarity. The quality difference becomes more noticeable when compared to its competitors. Amazon Music Unlimited, Tidal, Deezer, and Qobuz support lossless formats like FLAC for superior audio quality. If you are an audiophile, you might need to switch from YouTube Music to competing platforms.

5

YouTube Music doesn’t support Dolby Atmos

Premium users should enjoy an immersive audio experience

Dolby Atmos offers an immersive audio experience for fans of music in surround sound. While Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music Unlimited support Atmos, YouTube Music doesn’t offer the feature. YouTube Music can offer Dolby Atmos for music enthusiasts under the Premium plan to catch up with its competitors.

4

Organizing your playlist is a pain on YouTube Music

There are very few options for sorting your music library

Although the YouTube Music UI is intuitive, going through your library and playlist can feel confusing. That’s because the platform doesn’t offer many options for organizing your music. Your only options are to sort your library by recent activity, recently saved, and recently played music.

Cleaning up your playlist is equally frustrating since you can only sort manually, or newest first, or newest last. To compare, other music streaming apps like Spotify and Apple Music let you sort by title, artist, album, creator, date added, and duration. YouTube Music should offer similar options to tidy up your music library and playlist.

3

No light theme on YouTube Music

Dark mode shouldn’t be the only option

YouTube Music has followed Spotify’s example by adopting a dark theme for the web and mobile app. The interface color can feel less vibrant if you prefer light mode, and you cannot even change its appearance by tweaking your device settings. YouTube Music should add a light theme option for users who prefer a high-contrast UI.

2

YouTube Music lacks customization features

The service hardly offers any personalization options

Another feature that’s missing on YouTube Music is an equalizer option. Other apps like Spotify and Apple Music let you choose from acoustic, electronic, dance, jazz, bass booster, and more. You can also change volume controls and activate mono audio. Spotify has an automix option that allows seamless transitions between tracks on specific playlists. It would be nice to see YouTube Music offer audio customization features for an elevated listening experience.

1

No social integration on YouTube Music

There’s no way to follow your friends

YouTube Music has a massive song library and user base but lacks social integration options. Although you can like/dislike songs and add comments, you can’t follow friends. Meanwhile, Spotify and Apple Music offer this feature. Spotify also lets you create collaborative playlists and generate QR-like song tags to share with friends. It allows you to share your listening activity with your followers. I would like to see YouTube Music offer a robust platform for social interaction that will help expand musical boundaries.

YouTube Music isn’t your only music streaming option

Although YouTube Music offers some good features, it does not provide the best audio quality. It also lacks light mode, high-resolution audio, an equalizer, and crossfade options. If the app behaves unexpectedly due to glitches or bugs, you can troubleshoot it to resolve the problem. Most issues are fixed by clearing the app cache, reinstalling the app, checking your internet connection, or getting the latest update. You can contact Google Support or the YouTube Music Help Center as a last resort.

However, you may want to cancel your YouTube Music membership if you are looking for better sound quality. Canceling your premium subscription ensures your card does not get charged for renewal. You can subscribe to Spotify, Tidal, or Qobuz to enjoy high bitrate streaming. Pair it with high-quality headphones or earbuds for optimal sound.