YouTube Music is getting a Spotify-like ‘Year in Review’ feature that I’ve envied for years

I’ve been called a contrarian by those close to me for years. I don’t think that I desperately desire to be different for difference sake, but I do like to explore fringe opportunities and unorthodox ways of getting common tasks done. For the most part, that is why Chrome Unboxed exists in the first place. When Chrome OS came out, my inner Google fan wondered if this new way of computing could replace the old ways for me. It was a lot of work and required a lot of wrenching back then, but I made it work.

For whatever reason, I’ve been the same with music streaming services. I jumped on Google Play Music early on and though others like Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music came along and offered up some perks that Google’s streaming service didn’t, I stayed put. In a lot of ways, it would have made sense to just jump over to Spotify a few years back, but I just wanted to make Google Play Music work for me, and I really feel like it did so quite well.

Well, except one thing: I was always – ALWAYS – jealous of a certain coworker’s year in review they had delivered at the end of each year from Spotify. Between the infographics and insights into what he listened to most through that year, I’d watch those little packages with genuine interest and some pretty intense envy. While I may be a contrarian, I like tech and data, too. I love the way Spotify’s ‘Wrapped’ presentation artfully guides you through your listening history and reminds you of some of the songs you may have jammed for months that were left by the wayside. I honestly can’t tell you how many times while watching these reviews that I considered dropping Play Music and hopping on the Spotify train.

YouTube Music is moving in the right direction

It looks like we’ll all be treated to the same type of year in review from YouTube Music according to a report from 9to5 Google. From that post, we can see that a Reddit user has already received their ‘My 2020 Year in Review’ playlist right in the YouTube Music app. From the looks of it, so far there is no infographic or video component, only a playlist that will appear at the top of your YouTube Music home screen. The user also found a few other ‘Best of 2020’ playlists for genres like pop and Latin, so it only follows that others will also be made available, too.

That Reddit post is pretty fresh, so we’ll see in the comments as the days wear on whether or not more users begin seeing this review playlist show up. I’m hopeful that Google figures out a way to deliver it with a bit more pizzaz than what we’re currently seeing, but I’m also trying to be realistic, here. YouTube Music has been undergoing a ton of work this year as it prepared to replace Google Play Music. We’ve all been clamouring for more features and fixes to small irritations, so I for one would rather Google continue focusing in on those things before giving me a feel-good graphic for my 2020 listening habits. However, try as I might, I do really want some sort of Spotify-like experience before 2020 ends. Here’s hoping.