How to Play YouTube Music in the Background [Solved]

Part 1. Can YouTube Music Play in the Background

You may wonder and search for 'Can YouTube Music play in the background'. Actually, YouTube Music only allows its Premium users to play music in the background by its mobile app. That is to say, YouTube Music Premium subscribers can use other apps when they listen to their preferred music on YouTube Music on phones.

What about users who use the web browser on a computer or do not purchase a YouTube Music Premium? Unfortunately, YouTube Music does not support you playing YouTube Music in the background in the official way. But don't worry. Here we have methods for you. Please follow our steps to make your dream come true.

See also: How to Get YouTube Music Premium Free

Part 2. How to Make YouTube Music Play in the Background [Premium]

With a Premium membership, it is really easy to make YouTube Music play in background on your phone. Besides the background play function, you also can get other creative music features after subscribing to YouTube Music's paid plan. Functions like ad-free, offline playing, higher-quality music, etc. Now, let's learn how to make YouTube Music play in the background with Premium.

Step 1. Open your YouTube Music app on Android or iPhone devices.

Step 2. Locate and play the song, playlist or album you want to stream in the background. You can find your wanted audio from your YouTube Music 'Library' or by typing its name on the top-line 'Explore' bar.

Step 3. Next, you can use other apps on your phone or lock the phone's screen for background play.

Part 3. How to Play YouTube Music in Background without Premium

How to play YouTube Music in background without Premium when you use a free version of YouTube Music or want to use YouTube Music on your computer? The following section will show you how to reach it easily.

1️⃣ How to Play YouTube Music in the Background Anywhere via AudFree Audio Capture

With a remarkable third-party tool, AudFree Audio Capture, you can get YouTube Music resources on your computer and transfer them to any music players you want. Therefore, you will find an available way to solve 'how to play YouTube Music in the background' anywhere. Moreover, this AudFree software doesn't need a YouTube Music Premium to download songs. You can simply use it to record and edit songs from the YouTube Music web version for free as well as a Premium plan.

Besides, you can convert YouTube Music audio to frequently-used formats, including MP3, AAC, WAV, FLAC, M4A, M4B, AIFF, MKA, OGG, APE, etc. Please note that the converted files are editable which is different from the YouTube Music official downloaded files. The files downloaded from YouTube Music officially are cached and protected.

AudFree Audio Capture

• Record computer audio for playing in the background
• Convert YouTube Music audio to multiple audio formats
• Keep audio metadata and original sound quality
• Support editing and keeping YouTube Music songs for free

Download

Download

Step 1Launch AudFree Audio Capture

First, please download and install the AudFree Audio Capture. Then, double-click to open it. Here you need to add software first. Please simply click the 'Select/Add an App' option.

Step 2Set YouTube Music output formats

Click the 'Format' option on the bottom to pick up the target audio format. Next, opt to an audio quality you like and hit the 'Edit' icon. Now, you will get a new window and you can can set some supported settings for your YouTube Music audio. After finishing, just click the 'Create and apply' option.

Step 3Capture YouTube Music audio

Next, check if you choose the software that supports YouTube Music in the AudFree. If yes, then just tap the 'Start' button to load the program and go to YouTube Music. Log into your YouTube Music account and play a song. The capture will record sound from YouTube Music.

Step 4Edit YouTube Music recorded audio

Then you can edit the recordings by clicking the 'Edit Tag' and "Trim" buttons. Next, hit the 'Save' option to download YouTube Music to your computer. You can locate the saved files by hitting the 'History' section. Therefore, you are able to play YouTube Music in background for free on your computer directly. Also, you can sync the downloads to your phone's music players for playing in the background.

2️⃣ How to Play YouTube Music in Background Android & iPhone Freely via Desktop Site

There is another way to solve 'how to get YouTube Music to play in background'. It is to use the 'desktop site' function on your phone's browser. It is a free way but you only can use on phones.

Step 1. Go to the 'Settings' app on your Android or iPhone. Tap 'Apps' > 'YouTube Music'.

Step 2. Then, tap the 'Set as default' option and you will get a new page.

Step 3. On the new page, you should select 'Open supported links' > 'In other app'.

Step 4. Now, please open your Google Chrome browser on your mobile phone and go to https://music.youtube.com/.

Step 5. Sign up or log into your YouTube Music account. Play your favorite song and tap 'three dots' from the top-right corner.

Step 6. Then select the 'Desktop site' option > 'Reload'. Please wait for seconds and then play the song again on the new YouTube Music interface.

Part 4. Summary

The methods above help you know how to play YouTube Music in the background on desktop and mobile with or without Premium. You can buy a YouTube Music Premium to play YouTube Music in background directly as well as freely listen to YouTube Music in the background via the browser desktop site function. Besides, we recommend a practical method which is to use the AudFree Audio Capture. This way helps you edit and save YouTube Music songs for free and you can play them in the background on any device.