YTMD - Alternative App to YouTube Music Website

YouTube Music is one of the most popular music streaming services out there. However, unlike its rival Spotify, YouTube doesn't offer a dedicated desktop app. Thankfully, this third-party alternative has come to the rescue.

What is YTMD?

There are two 'official' ways to access YouTube Music on PC – you can use the website or download the PWA (Progressive Web App).

TipsMake.com has shown you how to install YouTube Music as a PWA. However, apart from running in a separate window, PWAs do not give you the same experience as a dedicated app.

That's where the YouTube Music Desktop (YTMD) app comes in. This third-party, open-source desktop app is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

In addition to supporting every feature you get on the YouTube Music website or PWA, YTMD also offers media key support, taskbar media controls, background music playback, on-screen notifications when a track changes, and even a handy mini player.

YTMD - Alternative App to YouTube Music Website Picture 1

The app also has a ton of integrations, including Discord, Rainmeter, and Last.fm. These integrations aren't available with the PWA or web versions. You can also integrate with Elgato Stream Deck, OBS, Visual Studio Code, and access the mobile control app.

The app is also open source, meaning you can check out the source code at the YTMD GitHub repository at any time to get a clear picture of what's going on behind the scenes.

Why use this app?

Using YouTube Music or any music player in your browser can be a pain. If you have a lot of tabs open, you can easily lose track of which tab is which, and it often conflicts with local or browser media controls that reference another tab.

There are also concerns about the resource consumption required by the browser, even when you only have one tab open. Sure, PWAs solve these problems to some extent. However, it is still just a browser tab running in another window that your operating system treats as an app.

In addition to resource consumption, PWAs cannot integrate with external tools and Windows often confuses it with media control functions in the browser - which is extremely annoying.

Using YTMD not only solves these problems, but its external integrations mean you can also add music widgets and visualizers to your Rainmeter interface. The Stream Deck integration is also great, as it provides separate volume and track controls for YouTube Music, without interfering with what's going on in the background.

The Visual Studio Code integration is also quite handy as it allows you to change music on the fly without having to leave your code editor.

YTMD - Alternative App to YouTube Music Website Picture 2

Overall, the YTMD app offers capabilities far beyond the PWA and the website. If the desktop app was the main deciding factor in deciding whether Spotify or YouTube Music is better, then it's time to reconsider and give YTMD a try.

Samuel Daniel

Update 09 December 2024