Good news for music lovers, especially for those who subscribe to Google Play Music All Access. That is because they can now explore and listen to public playlists again.
All Access's searchable public playlists were first introduced by Google back in August earlier this year. However, it was quickly pulled out for some unknown reason. Some sources believe that the feature was pulled because it was not really ready for public use yet due to a few technical issues that needed to be resolved. Google, for its part, never released an official statement explaining why the feature was recalled.
But now that it is back, music-loving subscribers are no doubt hoping that it will stay for good. Using the public playlist search feature, those who signed up under All Access can browse through playlists created by other users. Some can certainly derive excitement from finding playlists that mirror their own taste in music. And for other more adventurous users, the searchable playlists serve as a goldmine for discovering previously unheard artists and tracks. Indeed, nothing compares to the feeling of finding a song from a certain motion picture or game that has not been released and getting to listen to it. And the fact that the feature allows users to search by genre, musical artist, or song title, it is definitely a nifty thing to have when you are a music enthusiast.
The feature can be found in the latest Play Music update, which as of this writing is being rolled out through Google Play. Those who do not have the update yet can get the Android application package (APK), which focuses on the public playlist search feature (the changelog has not listed any bug fix or addition). The cryptographic signature on the APK virtually guarantees that the file is safe for installation and was not tampered at all. Instead of waiting for Google to initiate download of this feature in your mobile device (which may take a while), you can download it on your own and install it like any regular APK. This version is designated 5.6.1623P.1416251 and users will need to have at least Android 2.3 to be able to successfully install it.
The update is over 8 megabytes in size and when installed, should replace your existing version of Google Play Music. A note when installing -- make sure that "Unknown Sources" is checked in the settings so that the installation should go without any hitches.
