If you have ever been listening to a song or podcast on YouTube Music and wanted to share a specific part of the audio, you’re in luck. OK, you have always been able to message them separately, telling them what part to skip to, but now you can add a timestamp instead.
You Can Now Add Timestamps to YouTube Music Shares
As first reported by 9to5Google but not yet officially announced by YouTube, you can now add a timestamp to anything you share from the YouTube Music website or app. We have been able to replicate this on the web, but aren’t yet seeing it on the mobile app. So we’re assuming this is rolling out slowly.
Once available, it means that instead of having to manually inform the recipient what part of the song or podcast you want them to listen to, you can add a timestamp that whisks them to that point. As an aside, you have been able to share podcasts with a timestamp on Spotify since 2021.
When listening to a piece of audio on YouTube Music, you just need to hit the Share button, then explore the various options. Previously, you would only see the option to share the song or podcast in its entirety, but going forward, you should see the option to add a timestamp before sharing.
The timestamp option will be disabled by default. However, once you slide the toggle across, you can then share at the point the song or podcast is paused, or edit the timestamp to whatever you want. This adds a timestamp to the URL (“t=xx” where “xx” represents the number of seconds).
This Is Especially Useful When Sharing Podcasts
The most obvious use for this feature is when sharing a part of a podcast you think will be of interest to a friend. Because the podcast format is long and tends to involve a wide range of different subjects, being able to share the exact part you want to share is great. Just don’t ever listen to podcasts at 2x speed.
However, I can also see myself using this to share specific parts of songs. Sometimes because there’s a specific part I love, and sometimes for a giggle. For example, if you know a friend hates a particular part of a song, you could share that. Whether for good or for evil, the result is the same.
YouTube added timestamp sharing to the main YouTube app earlier this year, so it was only a matter of time before it also arrived on the YouTube Music app.
