Google outlined a timeline today regarding its shutdown of Google Play Music. Beginning September, South Africa and New Zealand users will be unable to access it, and all others in October.
The music app will disappear completely by December, which means you have until the end of the year to transfer your library. In August, Google will no longer allow purchases within the app.
The reason for the shutdown is Google prepping and finalizing its YouTube Music service. Users could transfer all their Google Play Music content, including songs, uploads, recommendations, artists, albums and playlists to the new platform by downloading and opening the app.
As promised, Google is providing plenty of time for Play Music subscribers to bring their content over to YouTube Music. New devices with Android 10 will have Google Play Music replaced with YouTube Music app. The transfer itself is easy and should only take a few minutes.