Google Home Update Brings Google Music Library Playing, Not Just Stations

Chalk this one up in the “about time” category.

There is an update rolling out for Google Home that finally brings the ability for Google Play Music subscribers to stream their library of uploaded and purchased music to the Smart Speaker.  The update is rolling out as a device-side to your Google Home.  There is no update to the Home app itself expected – but keep an eye out.

To this point, when you wanted to play music on Home, it would always stream stations from the service, regardless if you had that music in your Google Play Music library.  The work-around of sorts was to specifically name an album that you have in your library, say “Play the album Clockwork Angels from Rush”.  If the album you requested was in Play Music, it would play it but it was streaming from the service itself, not necessarily what you had in your library.  This becomes a problem if there is an indie artist or other music that you have in your library but it isn’t in Google Play Music.  The work-around above won’t work.  The other work-around was to cast Play Music from your phone to your Home but that somewhat defeats the point, eh?

Now Google Home and Google Play Music are more tightly integrated and Home will now look in your library for music to play, not just streaming of it from a station.  In fact, Google Home will look at what you have uploaded and purchased in your Play Music library first before it streams a station.  You can request specific artists or songs that are in your library and it will stream them for you.  This means you will be able to request that special music you have in your library and have uploaded to Play Music but it is music that is not in the Play Music service itself.

The update is rolling out now and you’ll know you have it when you can request that album, artist or song that is in your library but you know isn’t in Google Play Music.