Yes, you can listen to YouTube Music offline for free if you are a YouTube Premium subscriber. YouTube Premium allows you to download songs, albums, playlists and music videos to your device so you can listen offline when you don’t have an internet connection. This is included with a YouTube Premium subscription at no extra cost.
How to download music for offline listening on YouTube Music
Here are the steps to download music for offline listening on YouTube Music:
- Open the YouTube Music app on your phone or tablet.
- Find a song, album, playlist or music video you want to download.
- Tap the download button next to it. On songs and videos it looks like a downward facing arrow. On albums and playlists it looks like a download icon.
- Select the download audio only or download audio and video options.
- The download will start and you can see its progress.
- Once finished, you can find it in your library under the Downloads section.
That’s all there is to it! The downloads will now be available for offline playback anytime even without an internet connection. You can listen to the downloads through the YouTube Music app on your device.
Why you need a YouTube Premium subscription
The ability to download music and listen offline on YouTube Music requires a paid YouTube Premium subscription. This is one of the main benefits you get as a YouTube Premium member.
Without a Premium subscription, YouTube Music is an ad-supported free streaming service just like the regular YouTube website. You can stream any song on demand but cannot download music for offline listening without paying.
A YouTube Premium membership removes ads across YouTube and gives you background play, offline downloads and exclusive content. It costs $11.99/month in the US. There is also a YouTube Premium family plan at $17.99 for up to 5 family members.
How much music you can download
There is no explicit limit on how many songs or number of downloads you can have at a time with YouTube Premium. However, your offline downloads are limited by the storage capacity on your device.
On Android devices, your downloads are saved to internal storage or SD card if available. On iOS, it saves to your device storage. You can keep downloading music till your storage is full.
The amount of music depends on file size of each download but expect few hundred songs on most phones. You can manage your downloads by deleting some when storage is low.
Features and limitations of offline YouTube Music
Here are some features and limitations to know about using YouTube Music offline:
- Works on Android, iOS, tablets, smart TVs, gaming consoles.
- Downloads songs, albums, playlists, music videos.
- Background play enabled.
- Can reorder and edit downloaded playlists.
- No ads on offline content.
- Can’t download remixes, covers, or live performances of songs.
- No offline listening on web version.
- Downloads work only on device it was saved on.
How long do offline downloads last
The offline downloads on YouTube Music last for 30 days from the download date. After 30 days, you will have to reconnect to the internet and verify you are still subscribed to YouTube Premium to keep listening to them.
This 30-day expiry is automatic and meant to verify your Premium membership is still active. All your downloads will disappear if your membership expires.
There is no way to extend the 30-day limit. The only option is to manually re-download the songs again before the 30 days to start a new 30-day period.
Listening to YouTube Music downloads offline
To listen to your offline YouTube Music downloads, you need to use the YouTube Music mobile app. Your downloads are not available in the desktop site.
On the app, go to Library and select Downloads. Here you will find all your saved songs, albums, playlists ready for offline playback.
Tap on a download to start listening. Make sure your internet connection is disabled to verify it’s actually playing offline.
The downloads are encrypted and can only be played within the app. You cannot export or transfer them to use in other music apps.
How to manage your offline downloads
You can manage your YouTube Music downloads by deleting ones you no longer need to free up storage space.
On the Downloads section, tap the 3-dot menu next to a download and choose Remove Download to delete it.
You can also set downloads to auto delete after a set number of days if you don’t want to manage them manually. Go to Settings > Offline and choose auto delete option.
Using YouTube Music offline on multiple devices
The YouTube Music downloads are device-specific. Each device will have its own separate downloads that cannot be transferred.
So if you want to listen on your phone and tablet, you’ll have to download a song on each device separately. There is no way to sync or share downloads between devices.
The advantage is you can pick different songs and playlists to download on each device as per your preference to save storage space.
Using YouTube Music offline on computers
Unfortunately, offline listening is not available on the YouTube Music website for computers. The downloads only work on mobile devices and tablets running iOS or Android.
On computer, you can only stream music online through youtube.com/music. But Premium allows ad-free and background play.
One workaround is to connect your phone to computer and listen to the downloaded songs on your phone through the YouTube Music mobile app.
Listening offline abroad or while traveling
A great benefit of downloading music for offline listening is that it works abroad or when traveling without cell service or data.
As long as you download the songs before losing internet access, you can continue listening to music offline while on flights, cruises or in foreign countries.
Just remember the downloads expire after 30 days. So re-download your playlists before a long international trip.
Sharing your offline music
The downloaded music is tied to your account and device. There is no way to extract the files to share with friends or post online.
This is due to licensing restrictions. You also cannot transfer downloads from one device to another via WiFi or Bluetooth or SD card.
The only way is for each person to use their own YouTube Premium account to download the songs on their device.
Listening offline on kids accounts
YouTube Premium family plans allow you to add supervised Google accounts for kids under 13. These kids accounts can also download music for offline use.
The parent account will need to enable downloads for the kid’s account in Family settings. Then the child can download age-appropriate music via the YouTube Kids app for offline listening.
It provides a way to give kids access to downloaded music safely when traveling or without internet.
