A new addition to YouTube Music’s feature set gives Premium subscribers the ability to download up to 200 songs based on their recent listening history. This is part of YouTube Music’s ongoing effort to expand its feature set. The new toggle, which is referred to as “Recently played songs,” was initially mentioned in a post titled “YouTube Music Highlights” that was published in February 2023. It is now available to the majority of YouTube users.
This feature operates independently from Smart downloads, which means that it will download even if Smart downloads is turned off. In other words, it is not dependent on Smart downloads in any way. In the “Downloads & storage” section of the settings page for the YouTube Music app, Premium users can enable the toggle by selecting the checkbox.
Google has not revealed where these newly downloaded songs will appear, but the company has stated that they can only be listened to offline. It is not clear whether users will have access to these songs as part of a separate playlist or whether they will simply be mixed in with other content that has been downloaded.
Over 80 million people currently use YouTube Music, and a sizeable number of them have subscribed to the paid Premium tier of the service. Despite certain drawbacks associated with the platform, YouTube Music has been steadily gaining in popularity. When users subscribe to YouTube Music Premium, they are able to listen to music without being interrupted by advertisements. This is one of the primary motivators for users to switch over to YouTube Music.
Premium users are likely to be pleased with the addition of the “Recently played songs” feature, as they will appreciate the convenience of having a selection of their most recent favorites automatically downloaded for offline listening. In addition to that, it is an additional step forward for YouTube Music in its pursuit to compete with other streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music.
To summarize, the “Recently played songs” feature is a new addition to YouTube Music that enables Premium subscribers to download up to 200 songs based on their recent listening history. Premium subscribers can access this feature by clicking on the “Recently played songs” tab. It is a separate service from Smart downloads, and the sole purpose of this service is offline listening. The feature is now accessible to the vast majority of users and is likely to be well received by Premium subscribers who are searching for additional ease and value derived from their subscription.
