YouTube Music collaborative playlist not working

Listening to music does not always have to be a solitary activity, especially in todays connected world. Even when you are just sitting on your computer, you can collaborate on playlists with your friends so that everyone can share the same music. This is obviously fantastic for friends who have the same tastes in music but also for the bolder ones that want to expand their horizons a little bit and get a sample of alternate music types. Collaborative playlists are also great for parties as you can just add songs to the queue in real time.

YouTube Basics

Technically, YouTube does not offer a way to create collaborative playlists. However, the video hosting website deserves a mention for the simple reason that everyone knows how to use it. You can create a playlist, make it public and share the link with your friends in an instant. Anyone can then edit that playlist and share their own version of it, something which is not great for a party but may be fine as an activity amongst friends.

With that said, things become more interesting once you have a Chromecast. Each time you attempt to play a song on YouTube while you are connected to the Chromecast, you get a prompt asking you whether you would like to play the song immediately or add it to the queue instead.

Since everyone can connect to Googles streaming dongle with their own devices, you can create collaborative playlists on the spot. Of course, these are temporary playlists only but they should serve you well when you just want to chill out with your friends and listen to some music.

Playlist Websites

Even though YouTube does not offer any official tool for collaborative playlists, entrepreneurial third-parties are there to provide us with an alternative. Websites like Playlistful and DJ2Q allow you to create playlists from YouTube videos which you can then share with your friends. The difference with YouTube is that your friends can actually add songs to those playlists as the videos are simply embedded in the websites and played through their own queues. For illustration purposes, here is how a standard collaborative playlist can be started through both of these services.

Playlistful

1. Go to Playlistful.com.
2. Click on Start a party.
3. Choose whether people can add songs longer than 10 minutes or not. This is meant to restrict people from adding entire albums but you can leave the option open if you trust your friends.
4. Send either one of the provided links to your friends, depending on the device they are using. If you send them the desktop link, you will also need to give them the code which they will type out after selecting the Join a party option.
5. Everyone can now add songs which will play automatically in the queue.

DJ2Q

1. Go to DJ2Q.com.
2. Click on the Create/Join Party button.
3. Enter the name of your party. Make sure you choose a unique name, otherwise DJ2Q will connect you to an existing party instead.
4. Click on Create Party or press Enter.
5. Share the link with your friends so that everyone can start adding songs.

As you can see, both services make it incredibly easy to create collaborative playlists and since it uses YouTube, there is a 99.9% chance everyone can find the songs they want.

Spotify and Deezer Collaborative playlists

Both Spotify and Deezer support collaborative playlists natively. This means you can simply mark a playlist as collaborative, share it with your friends and anyone can add songs from the respective service on the spot.

Spotify

1. Right-click on a playlist and select the Collaborative Playlist option. The music note icon next to the playlist will change so you can know which playlists are collaborative ones.
2. Right-click on the playlist once again and select the Share option. If you would like to share the playlist outside Spotify, Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr, you can always copy the playlists HTTP link or URI and share that with your friends instead.
3. Once your friends get the link, they have to open the playlist on Spotify and click on the Follow link so that they can also edit the playlist.
4. To prevent any further changes from being made to that playlist, simply right-click on it again and uncheck the Collaborative Playlist option.

Deezer

1. Open Deezer and click on the pencil icon next to a playlists details.
2. Tick the Collaborative box.
3. A link should now appear. Copy it and share it with your friends.
4. Any Deezer member can edit the playlist once they have the link, just like they would edit their own playlists.
5. Removing the checkmark from the Collaborative box will prevent additional changes.

Creating and sharing collaborative playlists is pretty simple in both music streaming services. Do note that any playlist can be turned into a collaborative one, which means that you can grab existing playlists and start from there instead of creating new ones from scratch. There are tons of services out there that allow you to find and import playlists so most of the work is already cut out for you.

In this day and age, ever-advancing technology has changed how musicians create and collaborate with other artists. Face-to-face interaction, in-home, or in professional studios is still the norm. But artists at opposite ends of the globe are working together every day, and the pandemic has only accelerated the growth of remote collaboration. The opportunity to make your own music and find collaborators online is a uniquely 21st-century possibility that well delve into here!

Make Your Music Using Specialized Websites

Developments like Soundtrap have streamlined online music production for users of any skill level. The subscription-based service offers a DAW for recording music, complete with loops, presets, and virtual instruments to aid the creative process. Its an incredibly powerful tool to make your own music without the fuss and complexity of traditional software like Pro Tools or Logic Pro X.

Most importantly, though, Soundtrap works entirely online, setting it apart from other DAWs. This means that artists can collaborate with each other in real-time from anywhere in the world or share projects quickly and easily with others. Whether your bandmate lives down the street or in another timezone, sites like these connect artists on an entirely different level.

Soundtraps interface. Photo courtesy of Flickr.

Soundtrap touts Antares Auto-Tune as a key feature, as well as a loop library thats 4000+ samples strong. This is particularly useful for hip-hop/rap producers who enjoy making beats. The service also offers its own intuitive beat-making instrument, called the Patterns Beatmaker.

While certainly not as high-functioning as full-fledged digital audio workstations [or even some of the FREE Daws available], sites like these are developed to cut the fat and allow inexperienced users to jump right in and make music.

Create with Soundation Studio

Much like Soundtrap discussed above, Soundation is an online DAW catering to musicians with little to no prior experience in digital audio. At the bare minimum [that is, $0.00/month], the tiered subscription service provides access to some 700 loops/samples and virtual instruments to create music. A premium subscription gives users the full package to record live audio and make use of an astonishing 12,000 loops/effects. Talk about options paralysis

Soundations DAW also supplies a host of user-friendly effects found in professional audio software, like high- and low-pass filters, a simple 3-band EQ, compression, reverb, and delay. An artist who is unfamiliar with how these work would find Soundations effects easily operable.

Again, though, the most important feature with sites like these is becoming part of an online community of creators. Imagine working with someone you share musical sensibilities with but have never actually met in person. Having access to a literal world of potential collaborators can drive your creativity to places you would never have considered before.

Making music online, for beginners or pros, is an amazing concept.

Avid Cloud Collaboration

Pro Tools users have probably noted Avids inclusion of cloud collaboration as of version 12. At a glance, Avids cloud assures access to the following features:

• The ability to connect with friends, colleagues, and new talent anywhere in the world.
• Work and collaborate remotely together without having to worry about file-swapping, import, or media issues.
• Share audio and MIDI tracks, edits, and mix changes directly from within Pro Tools.
• Built-in text chat allows you to share creative direction and new ideas in real-time.
• Enjoy access to your projects from anywhere, at any time while resting assured your files are secure.

The biggest advantage of using Pro Tools over a service like Soundtrap or Soundation is offline functionality and versatility. Professional software like this simply doesnt compare to the tailored-down, user-friendly experience found in online music-making services, and it shouldnt. The two are different entities entirely, and there is a time and place for either.

While the sites mentioned above offer real-time writing/composing collaboration, the Pro Tools cloud is designed with file-sharing and editing in mind. Exchanging multiple sessions back and forth with colleagues can be time-consuming, so Avids cloud feature reduces the tedium.

If Pro Tools piques your interest, you can still make your music online with others through the cloud, though the user experience would differ quite drastically from Soundtrap or Soundation. It may be wise to try both, and Pro Tools First is free! It does differ in functionality from the full version of course, but just read up on Pro Tools First limitations if you are concerned about it meeting your needs!

Online Collaboration Has Never Been Easier

Soundtrap and Soundation are but a glimpse into the world of online music production. The extensive loop libraries and user-friendly plugins featured in these subscription services are developed with inclusivity in mind. It doesnt matter whether youre a longtime musician or someone with a budding interest in beat-making; sites like these provide the tools to get up and running with ease.

And of course, the online communities built into places like Soundtrap and Soundation can prove to be fantastic sources of education, creativity, and fun. Its what sets these services apart from, say, Ableton Live or Digital Performer. With regular, offline DAWs, you simply dont get a community that functions like that.

However, if you are after the traditional experience, a great place to start is Pro Tools First. Youll find that the Avid Cloud functions somewhat similarly to an online DAW, and the Pro Tools user experience may be more in-tune with your audio needs.

Whichever route you choose, its never been a better time to make music online!

One of the best parts of listening to music is getting to share it with your friends, and thanks to the magic of modern playlisting, collaborative playlist creation can is now a reality. Here Randy Zimmerman walks us through how to create group playlists on both Spotify and Apple Music.

Guest post by Randi Zimmerman of the Symphonic Blog

If your group of friends is anything like mine, youre obligated to share every great banger you come across. Whether you send it to the group chat or through social media, sharing our favorite songs with our closest friends is one of the best ways to find new music.

If only there was a way you could team up to create the ultimate playlist that all of your friends could add to whenever they please

Oh wait, there is!

Heres how it works:

There are two great streaming services that offer the collaborative playlist feature, Spotify and Apple Music. Both of them are the same concept and super easy to use, so feel free to use whichever one your heart desires.

Spotify

With Spotifys collaborative playlists, its up to you to decide who you want to give access to. The only way your friends can start adding songs to the playlist is if theyve been given the web address for your playlist. To make sure no random strangers can start adding nonsense to your perfect playlist, you also cant publish these playlists to your public profile. [Its for the best, I promise]

To add some accountability to whats added, the username for whoever adds which track is shown for you to see. That way, if your friend Jim keeps adding Brittney Spears to your strictly Underground Rap playlist, you know exactly who to yell at.

Follow these steps to get started:

• Go ahead and create a regular playlist.
• Then, right-click its title in the main sidebar and select Collaborative Playlist from the pop-up menu that appears. [The music note will turn from white to green, and a little dot should appear next to it.]
• On that same right-click menu, click share to give access to whoever you want to collab with.

Apple Music

• When you open the app, tap on My Music at the bottom of the screen. Youll see the thumbnails for Recently Added Playlists.
• To create a playlist, tap the New button at the upper right corner of the screen.

Now that youve made a new playlist on Apple Music, there are two options to add songs to the playlist.

Option one: Go to the new playlist, tap the green plus button to add the songs that you want into this newly created playlist.

Option two: Browse songs first, and then tap the three-dot icon on the right of the song you want to bring up a new list. Choose Add to a Playlist Then, tap the playlist you just made.

After youve added the songs you want to this playlist, its time to share it.

• Go to the playlist that you want to share, click three-dot icon at the upper right part, a list will appear.
• Tap Share Playlist. Then, youre free to choose whatever platform or person you want to share your playlist with. [Message, E-mail, Twitter, etc. are all available for you]

Collaborating on the ultimate playlist with your friends is a really fun way to keep everyone up to date on the hottest tracks. My only recommendation is to be super picky with who you let in on the action. You dont want that one friend with terrible taste in music to mess up all your hard work. Other than that, go wild.

We hope this post helped you through creating some collaborative playlists of your own. Drop us a comment below if youve used this feature before and how you like it.