What you need to know
- YouTube Music wants to show you what the artists you subscribe to are doing.
- The app introduces a new activity feed that shows new singles and albums from subscribed artists.
- The feature is currently available for Android and iOS users, but web users have to wait.
YouTube Music for Android and iOS is getting a new feed called “Activity” that shows up when users press the notification bell icon in the music app.
As noted by 9to5Google, it was spotted in the YouTube Music app last month. However, it seems to be rolling out widely to all users of the app on iOS and Android devices.
Currently, the YouTube Music app has a notification bell icon that can be seen at the top when users are on the “Home” tab. This icon was generally used to introduce app notifications like any other app. However, users would see a new “Activity” feed after the latest update rollout, which shows “updates from artists you’re subscribed to and other activity will be displayed here.”
As 9to5 points out, the Activity feed currently displays new singles and albums from artists that users subscribe to in reverse chronological order. When the rollout becomes more widely available to users, we may see more features added to it, such as the ability to see new podcasts from channels they’re subscribed to.
Also, the feed will likely be grouped weekly or monthly as it currently features some of the artist’s work in the “This Week” section.
Beneath the new activity feed, YouTube Music users can also find a “Suggested for You” feed, where they can subscribe to their favorite unsubscribed artists. As 9to5 notes, this feed is likely based on their music listening history.
The activity of artists is a well-known feature. Spotify and other music streaming services provide a similar feed highlighting music artists they enjoy, especially musicians they follow.
In terms of presentation, it currently appears in the YouTube Music app as mentioned above, and is nowhere to be found on YouTube Music for the web yet.