What Do Symbols and Icons Mean on YouTube Music

YouTube Music is one of the youngest to join the music streaming services party. And within a short span, it has already become quite popular among the masses. If you’re also trying out YouTube Music for the first time, you might come across some icons and symbols you’re probably unfamiliar with. To make your life easier, in this article, we will be explaining each icon and symbol on YouTube Music along with their meaning.

Table of Contents

YouTube Music Home Screen Symbols Meaning

That’s the main screen visible when you open the app on your smartphone. Let’s see what each icon means inside this tab:

Bell with Number in a Small Red Circle Icon: Check notifications on the app. The red circle with a number shows how many notifications are unread.
Magnifying Glass Icon: Search songs, artists, podcasts, and more.
Profile Picture/ Name Initial Icon: Takes you to your profile page. From there, you can manage your Google account, view downloads, see music history, manage YouTube Premium membership, and more.
Right Arrow Icon: Takes you to that page.
Cast Icon: Stream YouTube Music on a TV, Fire TV, Roku, or any other casting device that also supports casting.
White Triangle Icon: Play the recently played or current song.
Three Vertical Dots Icon: Shows options related to that song.
Small Profile Icon: Appears on the playlist created by other people. You can tap on this icon to view more.
Progress Bar Icon: Shows how much of the song has been played.
Plus, inside a White Circle Icon: Create a radio of your own.
YouTube Music Icon: Appears on the playlists created by YouTube Music.
Triangle in a Circle Icon: Play that playlist.
Small Play Icon With Two Wavy Lines Icon: Play similar songs from the playlist, artist, genre, or album.
Stacked Square boxes with + Sign Icon: It’s a save button. Use this button to save any playlist to your YouTube Music Library. Once tapped, the icon will change to a square box with a checkmark symbol.
Triangle inside a Zig-Zag Icon: Opens shorts on YouTube that have used that music.

Downloaded Song Icon

If you see a black tick in a grey circle icon, it means that the song is downloaded to your YouTube Music.

Samples Tab

This tab offers you a personalized, endlessly scrollable feed of short music video segments, similar to TikTok or Reels. Let’s explore each icon that appears in these short videos:

Thumbs Up Icon: Like the sample video.
Chat Note with Lines Icon: Opens the comment of that sample video.
Right Curved Arrow Icon: Share that sample video.
Three Dot Icon: Opens more options related to that song.

Explore Tab Icons Meaning

When you go to the explore tab, discover new music and podcasts by showcasing popular releases along with curated content based on their listening preferences and location. Let’s find out the meaning of icons inside this tab:

Green Up Arrow Icon: Songs that have gone up in the charts.
Red Down Arrow Icon: Songs that have gone down in the charts
Grey Dot Icon: Songs that have stayed in the same position in the charts.

Library Tab Icons Meaning

This library tab displays your saved music, playlists, and liked songs. You can find all the content you’ve chosen to keep or add to your listening experience. Here’s what those tiny icons mean on this tab:

Clock With Reverse Arrow Icon: Lets you view all your YouTube Music history.
Down Arrow in a Circle Icon: Open an option to switch between library and downloads.
Down Arrow Icon: Opens a list of sort-by options.
Small Squares forming a Square Icon: Change to grid view. After tapping, it changes to three lines with a dot icon. You can tap again to switch back to list view.
Three Dot Icon: Opens menu with options related to that playlist.
Pin Icon: Shows that the playlist is pinned.

Icons Inside a Playlist Meaning

When you tap on any playlist, you will be directed to a new tab with new icons. Let’s find out what they mean:

Down Arrow with an Underline Icon: Downloads liked music.
Black Triangle in White Circle Icon: Play the songs of the playlist.
Three Vertical Dots Icon: Opens a menu with options related to that playlist.

New Playlist Icons Meaning

After you create a new playlist in the YouTube Music app, you will encounter a few new icons that might be confusing to understand. Here’s what those icons mean:

Down Arrow with an Underline Icon: Downloads songs in that playlist.
Pencil Inside Grey Circle Icon: Edit the playlist.
Right Curved Arrow Icon: Share the entire playlist.
Pencil Inside Gradient Circle Icon: Change the theme of your playlist.
Plus, with Lines Icon: Add that song to the playlist.

Icons Inside the Search Screen

A few icons will appear when you enter the search screen. Here’s what those icons mean:

Cross Icon: Cancel search
Microphone Icon: Type the song name using voice.
Multiple Vertical Lines in Wave Form Icon: Search a song by playing, singing, or humming the song.
Slight Left Facing Arrow Icon: Input that suggested song name in the search bar.

YouTube Music Player Symbols Meaning

1. Down Arrow Icon

Tapping this icon will minimize the music player.

2. Thumbs Up Button

This button functions as a Like button. When tapped, it registers a like for the song or video and changes its color to solid white. Moreover, selecting this option adds the song or video to your “Likes” playlist and enhances the accuracy of music recommendations.

Tapping it again will remove the like from the song/video.

3. Thumbs Down Button

View this as a Dislike button. Tapping it will add a dislike to the song/video and promptly transition to the next track. Tap it again to remove the dislike from a video or song.

Tip: Learn how to check the dislike count on YouTube.

4. Progress Bar

This bar shows the current playback progress of the song or video you’re playing. You can also drag it to go to a certain part of the music.

5. Play/Pause, Previous, and Next Button

These buttons help you control your music or video. If you tap the Previous button (left-pointing arrow), the music/video starts from the beginning. Double-tapping it goes to the previous track. Tapping the Next button (right-pointing arrow) takes you to the next song. Whereas, the Pause and Play buttons stop and start the music or video.

6. Criss-Cross Arrow

Consider this icon as a Shuffle button. Tapping it will shuffle your playlist order.

7. Two Arrows With Rectangular Rotation

If you tap it once, the icon becomes bold and sets your YouTube Music playlist in a loop.

Tap it again, and you’ll see a number 1 in the middle. This means the current song will keep playing on repeat until you turn off the feature. Tap it again to go back to the default state.

8. Bar at the Bottom of Music Player

Tap on this bar to see more choices, like the next track, lyrics, and related music and playlists.

9. Right-Pointing Curved Arrow

Refer to this icon as the Share button. You can use it to share music or video with anyone.

10. Square Border

That’s a Fullscreen button. Tapping it will switch the song or video to full-screen mode, and tapping it again to exit full-screen mode.

“E” Icon Meaning

The letter E means Explicit. When you encounter this icon alongside a song, it indicates that the lyrics contain violent, adult, sexual, or offensive language. Generally, these songs are not advisable for children or individuals who might be sensitive to such content.

Exclamation (!) Icon Meaning

You might notice this exclamation icon in a few of the songs in the playlists or library. Let’s explore what it means:

Exclamation Mark Inside a Circle Icon: It means that there is an issue with the download of this song. You might have changed the device or logged in again, or maybe the cache got cleared. Just download the song again, and it will disappear.

While many of the icons and symbols on YouTube Music resemble those found on other major music streaming services, there may still be some that prove challenging to comprehend or use correctly. This article aims to provide clarity, helping you grasp the significance and appropriate usage of each symbol and icon within the realm of YouTube Music.

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