What you need to know
- YouTube Music seems to be working on a new kind of customization.
- It appears to be testing the ability for some users to create their own radio stations.
- The availability of this experimental feature is apparently limited for now, and it’s uncertain whether it will go live for everyone eventually.
YouTube Music’s customization options currently include manually adding songs to a playlist you’ve created or hitting the like button that appears for each soundtrack, but those may expand in the future.
As spotted by a Reddit user (opens in new tab), the music streaming service is apparently experimenting with a new capability that allows users to create a custom radio based on a selection of artists (via 9to5Google (opens in new tab)). The experimental feature appears to be available to a small set of users for the time being.
For users who have it, the feature is hard to miss since it appears as a card on the app’s home screen. Tapping on the card will bring you to what looks like a setup screen in which you’ll be asked to pick artists that you like. It’s almost as if you’re setting up your YouTube Music experience for the first time.
Once you’ve settled with your set of artists, the next screen will ask you whether you want a mix of familiar song selection or like to discover new songs. That said, you can also choose to listen to a combination of “Familiar” and “Discover” selections. Finally, you’ll be prompted to choose any of the following filters: popular, deep cuts, new releases, pump-up, chill, upbeat, downbeat, and focus.
9to5 notes that the resulting curation is named after the names of all the artists you’ve selected. This can be a little hard to remember, and can be a major drawback to what’s otherwise a more advanced customization option.
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Here’s hoping YouTube Music eventually adds the ability to rename the playlist into something easier to remember.
Currently, aside from creating your own playlist or building your own list of favorite songs, YouTube Music’s algorithm curates a list of songs for you based on your specific interests, including genre, artists, and songs you’ve listened to. The potential feature may elevate that experience by giving you control over which artists populate your stream, assuming it rolls out to everyone in a future update.