Music is a form of expression for a lot of us, and we express ourselves by listening to music and creating playlists of our own. That’s why the thought of potentially losing saved playlists can be disastrous. Luckily, if you use YouTube Music, you can backup your saved playlists and download songs through Google Takeout. Since YouTube Music is a top option often paired with the best Android phones, a lot of people use it. But, if you lose access to your YouTube Music account or decide to cancel your subscription, you’ll be able to keep a record of all the songs and playlists you downloaded and created over time.
What is Google Takeout, and why should you use it for YouTube Music?
If you want to download any data related to your Google account, you’ll need to go to Google Takeout to do so. You can access Google Takeout by following this link or by navigating through your account settings. There are a slew of data points that you can download, but the exact number will vary based on the Google services you use. This includes things like Google Photos, your Gmail emails, or your YouTube Music songs and playlists. For a full guide to Google Takeout, read our comprehensive explainer here.
Anyone who uses YouTube Music should consider downloading their data from Google Takeout, and there are a few reasons for this. First, redundancy is important, and it can protect your data. If some error happens on Google’s end, and you lose access to your saved songs and playlists, having a backup can give you peace of mind. Plus, if you ever want to switch streaming services, a record of your playlists and downloaded songs can make that transition a lot easier.
How to download all your songs and playlists from YouTube Music
- Start by opening the Download your data page in Google Takeout. Click this link to access the page.
- Sign in to your Google account in Google Takeout. (You may already be signed in)
- Click the Deselect all button under the Select data to include the section.
- Scroll down to the YouTube and YouTube Music tab and select the checkbox.
- Click Next step to continue.
- Choose the transfer destination. You can send your photos to a download link via email, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Box.
- Choose the export frequency. You can either export once or schedule exports every two months for one year.
- Choose the file type and size. We recommend .zip files and the largest possible file size so your photos aren’t split up between multiple files.
- Click the create export button.
What comes next for your export
Unfortunately, your download will not process immediately, so you’ll have to wait a bit to access your backup. Google says that it can take “a long time,” per its support pages, and adds that it could take hours or days. However, in our testing, the export only took about 15 minutes and was in our inbox shortly after requesting to download our data. When the export is complete, you will receive an email with either a download link or a confirmation that the export has finished. If you’ve selected a recurring export, the download will occur every two months, and you’ll receive an email each time an export is ready.
YouTube Music is one of the best music player apps for Android, and it’s even better if you already subscribe to YouTube Premium. But it’s good practice to have a backup of all your songs and playlists just in case you lose access to your account or want to switch to another service.