YouTube has beenstrong in its rivalry with Spotifyand other popular entertainment apps like Apple Music and Deezer. However, Google still seems to be searching for an advantage, trying new features likepodcasts on YouTube Musicin hopes of standing out from the crowd. Learning from the main YouTube platform, YouTube Music now seems ready to introduce a social element to the user experience. It is a unique addition, but we have our doubts about its usefulness.
Sharing music on social media or through playlists and shared listening sessions has been a one-sided affair for the most part. Adding comments to the mix can expose listeners to different perspectives, interpretations of the lyrics, and other discussions about the content. Perhaps to foster this,9to5Googlerecently spotted YouTube Music testing out a new comments button nestled between the Like/Dislike and Save buttons of the new actions carousel just above the seek bar.
Tapping the comments button opens an interface resembling the one on the main YouTube app, so the comments section stays hidden unless you deliberately choose to open it. The recent addition is available for most content on the YouTube Music app, and should particularly benefit podcast creators who often interact with their community members. However, artists and podcasters can disable comments on their tracks.
If the comments sections under music videos on YouTube are anything to go by, though, there’s a probability listeners may engage in undesirable behavior like bullying, spam, and brigading. The problem is all too obvious on YouTube, and Google doesn’t seem to be doing anything new to prevent toxic cesspools of words from appearing on YouTube Music. We wonder if the uniqueness of this addition is worth the moderation problems it brings along. That said, the comments section isn’t visible widely yet.
Meanwhile, there are other questionable changes coming to YouTube Music, like thenew swipe gestures for the mini player, which have killed off the swipe down gestures to clear your queued music.
