YouTube Music may finally pick up a feature Spotify has had for years

YouTube Music

What you need to know

• YouTube Music appears to be implementing song credits.
• Song and album credits have been a long-requested feature by YouTube Music subscribers, and it's been available on rival services like Spotify and Tidal.
• The feature could be making its way to the service through a server-side update.

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YouTube Music seems to be finally addressing one of the long-standing complaints about the service, as new evidence suggests song and album credits are coming to the app.

Streaming services have had a contentious history with the music industry, particularly with songwriters, who have accused many of the leading music streaming services of failing to give due credit to the artists behind the songs played on their respective platforms. Some of these platforms, such as Spotify and Tidal, resolved these issues by including songwriter credits whenever possible.

YouTube Music may follow suit in the near future, as suggested by a Reddit user who goes by the handle u/matteventu, first spotted by 9to5Google. According to a screenshot shared by the user, you'll be able to check out a track’s credits by tapping the overflow menu next to each song and then hitting "View song credits" to read up on a song’s performers, composer, producer, and the music metadata provider.

(Image credit: matteventu / Reddit)

(Image credit: matteventu / Reddit)

As 9to5 points out, the metadata part might not be available for every song, especially if it's coming from self-published artists. This option will presumably be available only if the information is provided by the record labels, like on Spotify.

It's a bit surprising that something as basic as credits took YouTube Music this long to implement. While it may not be as good as higher royalties, it's a step in the right direction because everyone involved in song creation and production deserves to have their efforts recognized.

Aside from being a long-overdue feature, song credits have been a popular user request for several years. For the time being, though, it's apparently not widely available. A server-side update could bring the feature to YouTube Music.