Google is gradually preparing to shut down Play Music, and YouTube Music will serve as a replacement. The organisation has been adding highlights to update YTM with GPM, but there are still many zones where it lags.
One of these is Android TV support, which Google has unearthed in an unusual way. Rather than releasing a separate YouTube Music application for Android TV, Google is integrating it into the current YouTube application.
A server-side update has added a new “Music” tab to the sidebar of the YouTube application on Android tv. This tab combines standard YouTube advice with content from your music account. It is far from the perfect usage.
However, this new integration lacks many basic features, such as,
There is no background playback: When you exit the YouTube app, your music stops.
So Chromecasting from the YTM Android app is still preferable—at the very least, it provides continuous background music.
There isn’t a shuffle or a repeat: You’re forced to play music in the order it was created, and when it’s finished, you must manually restart it.
There is no audio/video toggle: Unlike the mobile YTM app, you never know what type of media you’ll be served when you start playing, which could be a problem if you don’t want to hog your network connection or become distracted by videos.
There is no playlist management at all.
No access to the entire library: This isn’t the place to go if you want to easily browse your entire library by playlist, album, song, or artist.
There is no access to the songs and albums you’ve uploaded or migrated from Google Play Music. Yes, a video application isn’t great at being a music player as well.
You’re in a fantastic position, essentially streaming YouTube Music from your phone to your Android tv. Good, this usage is just a stopgap until a full-fledged independent application is released.