By: Bruce Wawrzyniak
Last night I was watching television. I have a Google Home Mini sitting right next to the TV. So, when a commercial came on in which someone said, “Hey Google,” and then gave it a command to start playing certain music, yup, you guessed it, my smart speaker started playing exactly what the person in the ad asked for. As Homer Simpson would say, “D’oh!”
If you follow the Instagram account for my weekly “Now HearThis Entertainment” podcast, you’ve seen me post on there in the past a short
video of asking an Alexa to play the latest episode.
If you think it gets a little overwhelming at times, trying to
keep up with the comings and goings of the various music/podcast listening platforms
these days, there is one less in the mix that you wouldn’t have expected to go
away.
If you are creating original music and not podcasts, we have
something in common. We both can no
longer count Google Play Music as a source for listeners to hear what we
produce.
Here is what you can do, though.
Podcasters were notified earlier this year and then again
when it just happened, emails being sent saying that Google Play Music was
going away and that listeners should be directed instead to Google Podcasts. (For some reason, a portion of
the podcast community had an, “It’s about time” reaction. I’m no Albert Einstein, but I knew what the
difference was and certainly never complained that, until this recent change,
Google was actually making NHTE available on two different platforms.)
But what about music creators? Especially now, when there are few live showsto be had in many parts of the country, there need to be plenty of places where people can get your original music from. To take away Google Play Music is just another jab by the boxer who’s trying to pummel your music career, right?
Actually, Google had a response planned for that too. They have actually been directing music
creators to push their listeners towards YouTube Music. I’ll pause for a second while you re-read
that sentence. Yes, YouTube Music. Not the YouTube that you’ve been used to
where you upload your videos to.
Instead, while this might look a bit like YouTube, to quote a popular
expression, “There’s nothing to see here.”
I test drove it recently and liked the accessibility and wasn’t turned
off by there not being something visually holding my attention. (That is, unless you relish the idea of
staring at album artwork.)
Now, to clarify, yes, you can see some videos on there, but
the point here is that the major emphasis is on this being a streaming service
that can compete with the likes of Spotify, Pandora, SiriusXM, iHeartRadio,
etc. Remember the context here – Google needed
someplace to send listeners who were used to streaming through Google Play
Music. Thus, they weren’t going to say, “Go
from a listening platform to watching videos on (the traditional) YouTube
(platform) instead.”
The moral of the story is, you do need to keep up
with these kinds of changes because you do need to make sure your music
(or your podcast) is in as many places as possible. And while there’s a good chance you might search
for yourself on YouTube Music and find your content already on there, now is a
good time to double check and make sure, if you haven’t done so and aren’t sure
already.
Remember, though, that sadly, unless you’re an A-lister, don’t
get excited thinking that this is going to be a pot of gold that you’re going
to discover. In the Related Posts links
on this page, check out the blog that shows the harsh reality of returns (or lack
thereof) from streaming services.
Where are you getting good streaming results? Are you already on YouTube Music (or Google
Podcasts)? Tweet to let me know via @NHT_tweets
or use Facebook or LinkedIn to give me your feedback. Alternatively, you can send me a note through
email. And remember that if you need
help sorting through this, or some other facet of your music or podcasting
career, I'm available for a private, one-on-one video consultation.
• • •
I am a manager and publicist, running Now Hear This, Inc., an agency that has served clients across the U.S. ranging from music artists to authors to small businesses and even an Olympic athlete. Since February 2014 I have also hosted a weekly podcast (“Now Hear This Entertainment”), which has gotten listeners from 153 countries around the world. Find more about the company and the podcast at www.NowHearThis.biz. I am also a national speaker. Visit www.SpeakerBruceW.com for more information.
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