How Do I Upload My Music to My Google Home for Free
Derek Walter
Google Play Music is currently the best streaming music service for people who have their own music collections. The service lets users upload 50,000 of their own music files, then access the audio on a wide range of streaming devices. It'due south a great way to access your own music files from anywhere, and it doesn't cost a dime.
Unfortunately, the free ride is just about over. At the terminate of this year, Google volition discontinue Google Play Music and push button users over to YouTube Music as a replacement. But while YouTube Music now supports music uploads and offers an easy migration tool for Google Play Music users, the transition comes with a take hold of: YouTube Music'southward uploads aren't playable on Google Home Speakers and Chromecast streaming dongles, at least non without paying $x per month for a full-blown YouTube Music Premium subscription.
In an ideal world, Google would continue supporting costless playback on Google Home and Chromecast devices as a goodwill gesture to longtime users, or at least offer a cheaper upload-just subscription tier. Instead, those who have extensive MP3, FLAC, or other digital music collections will have to starting time considering other ways to play music via Google Cast.
Jared Newman / IDG Google to digital music collectors: Pay upwardly to play your own music on your Google-axial speaker systems.
Let's walk through the options for keeping the music alive on Google Habitation speakers afterward Google Play Music goes abroad in December.
Starting time, a disclaimer
Before we become into the alternatives, keep in mind that none of the options beneath support launching music by voice via Google Home speakers. You lot can ask Google to pause, resume, or stop playback, but you tin can't select music, fast forward, or rewind. That ways you'll need to use a phone, computer, or tablet to start a listening session and skip tracks.
The expert news, however, is that all the solutions I'm near to describe practise support multi-room audio. If you've set upwards some groups in the Google Home app, yous'll be able keep casting music to those groups just like before.
Option one: Plex
Plex is a pop program for hosting media files on ane device and streaming them to others. If you accept a desktop computer, Nvidia Shield Television Pro, or compatible NAS device, you can install Plex's Media Server software and host your music files on information technology, then play the music through Plex'southward streaming devices. Plex's iOS, Android, and desktop web apps all support casting, so y'all can use them to transport music to your Google Home speakers or Chromecast devices. This even works with any Google Home speaker groups y'all've created.
Jared Newman / IDG While it doesn't support voice commands beyond playing and stopping, Plex does let you cast to external speakers.
As for the costs, Plex's desktop spider web app is free to employ, even with Chromecast devices, but the iOS and Android apps cost $5 each to remove playback time limitations.
If you subscribe to Plex Pass, which costs $five per month, $forty per twelvemonth, or $120 for life, all of Plex's apps are gratuitous. This also unlocks some actress features, such every bit creative person metadata, volume leveling, crossfades between tracks, and visualizations.
The setup's a bit crushing given the hardware involved, but it'southward worth the effort if you want to access your music from a wide range of streaming devices. Y'all can access your library remotely through your server at home, and it fifty-fifty supports lossless audio formats such equally FLAC. While not Chromecast-related, Plex supports Android Auto also.
Here'due south how to get rolling:
Desktop
- Download Plex Media Server for your desktop calculator (Windows, Mac, or Linux) or NAS, then follow the installation process and hit "Launch."
- Create an business relationship if y'all don't have one. If you'd really rather not, yous can click "What'due south this?" and then select "Skip and take limited functionality.
- When prompted, specify the folder where your music files are located. This will allow Plex to scan for music files and stream them to your other devices.
Jared Newman / IDG - To modify where Plex looks for music files on your computer, head to app.plex.television set. Locate the "Music" section in the sidebar, hit the vertical "…" button, then select Manage Library > Edit > Add together folders.
Nvidia Shield Television
- Download the regular Plex app, which should find your Shield and offer to install the media server. (Detailed Shield installation instructions are available on Plex's website.)
- If your music files are on an external hard drive, fix up Plex to scan those files by visiting app.plex.tv. Locate the "Music" section in the sidebar, hit the vertical "…" button, then select Manage Library > Edit > Add together folders.
Jared Newman / IDG Plex's web app lets you manage your music library, even with the Shield TV.
NAS
Instructions for NAS setup vary depending on the manufacturer, only you tin can start by visiting Plex's download page to get the appropriate software. Exist certain to read Plex's devices and limitations page likewise.
Using Plex with Chromecast and Google Home
Once you've dealt with all that setup, using Plex is fairly easy. Just visit app.plex.idiot box or download Plex's apps for iOS or Android, then sign in with the same business relationship with which yous set up the server. Plex should notice your media server automatically, and y'all should see the Cast icon on the screen. Select any of your Google Habitation speakers, speaker groups, Chromecast devices, and then choose some music to start playing.
If you're a Plex Pass subscriber, I besides advise checking out Plexamp, an splendid culling app that'south strictly focused on music instead of all media types. Chromecast support is currently in evolution.
Jared Newman / IDG The Plexamp app will be an fifty-fifty amend way to play music one time it gets Chromecast support.
Option 2: Hullo-Fi Cast for Android
For Android users who don't want to deal with all of Plex's setup, the Hi-Fi Cast app is a fine alternative, particularly if your phone has ample storage or a MicroSD card slot for holding a large music collection. The app supports gapless playback on Chromecast devices for any MP3, AAC, FLAC, and WAV Files stored on your phone, and it'due south free to utilise. (A $3-per-year or $9 ane-time in-app buy removes advertisements and unlocks Android Motorcar support.)
Jared Newman / IDG How-do-you-do-Fi Cast is a fine selection for Chromecast and Google Home music if your phone has enough storage.
Once installed, Hi-Fi Cast automatically detects all the music on your device and lets you browse by creative person, album, genre, or playlist. To commencement casting, just hit the "Playing to this device" button at the lesser, and cull your Google Home speaker, speaker group, or Chromecast from the device listing.
One other thing to consider: If you're paying for plenty cloud storage to hold your MP3 drove, yous might apply the Autosync apps for OneDrive, Dropbox, or Google Drive to sync some or all of your music drove onto your phone automatically.
Option 3: Music Caster for Windows
If you lot desire to play music from your laptop, but haven't fix a Plex server, Music Pulley tin help. Information technology has its ain music player, it supports casting to private speakers or groups, and it works without event in my experience. Caput to the download page, select the "Portable.goose egg" option, and so excerpt it anywhere on your figurer.
Jared Newman / IDG At present, open Music Caster.exe, and yous should see a white Cast button in taskbar. Double-click the icon to open the music player, or right-click and highlight "Select Device" to cull your speakers or Chromecast devices from the list.
With any luck, Google will run across the calorie-free and provide a way for YouTube Music users to go on casting their ain record collections. But if that doesn't happen, at least you'll have an exit plan.
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Jared Newman has been helping folks make sense of engineering for over a decade, writing for PCWorld, TechHive, and elsewhere. He also publishes two newsletters, Advisorator for straightforward tech advice and Cord Cutter Weekly for saving coin on TV service.
Source: https://www.techhive.com/article/578725/how-to-play-your-personal-music-collection-on-google-home-and-chromecast.html
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