Google announced on Wednesday two new subscription-based video streaming services, YouTube Premium as a drop-in replacement for YouTube Red, and YouTube Music.
In an attempt to compete with already established streaming services like Apple Music, Spotify or Tidal, Google is soon launching YouTube Music, a new music streaming service to give users easier access to official songs and albums, covers and music videos, live performances, thousands of playlists, artist radio, and YouTube’s ever-growing catalog of remixes.
YouTube Music will be both a free (ad-supported) and paid (ad-free) streaming service, available in the form of a reimagined mobile app for Android and iOS devices, as well as a brand-new desktop player specially designed for music playback. The paid variant, YouTube Music Premium, will cost $9.99 USD per month and offer background listening and downloads.
"YouTube Music’s personalized home screen dynamically adapts to provide recommendations based on people’s listening history, where they are and what they’re doing. At the airport? We’ll recommend something relaxing before the flight. Entering the gym? We’ll suggest some beats to get the heart-rate going," said Google in the announcement.
Existing Google Play Music subscribers will automatically get a YouTube Music Premium membership. YouTube Music will start rolling out in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Mexico on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, and it's coming to Canada, U.K., Russia, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Ireland in the next few weeks.
YouTube Red is becoming YouTube Premium
Google also announced that its YouTube Red commercial streaming service is becoming YouTube Premium, a more expensive service that will also include the new YouTube Music ad-free music streaming service with background listening and downloads, more and bigger original movies and TV series, as well as an ad-free general YouTube experience with downloads and background play.
YouTube Premium will soon roll out to existing markets, including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Mexico, and it's also coming soon to additional countries, among which we can mention Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Russia. YouTube Premium will cost $11.99 USD per month.
