Google competes with Spotify and Apple Music with new subscription service YouTube Music
Google is making a new attempt at music streaming, this time under the YouTube video platform brand. The music service will cost 9.99 dollars. For two dollars more, YouTube Premium also offers ad-free access to all YouTube videos and exclusive productions.
According to a blog post, the new YouTube Music service will offer access to songs and music videos. In addition to an ad-financed free version, there will also be a subscription model without ads that also allows downloads. The existing Google Play Music streaming service will continue to exist and its subscription customers will automatically receive the premium version of YouTube Music.
YouTube Music will initially be launched on May 22 in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South Korea. European countries will follow soon. The subscription version YouTube Music Premium costs 9.99 dollars, similar to other services. For two dollars more, YouTube Premium offers additional ad-free access to all videos on the platform as well as exclusive productions.
YouTube has more than one billion users, many of whom also watch music videos. The music industry has therefore wanted more money from the Google platform for years, with YouTube pointing to its share of advertising revenue.
The current streaming market leader Spotify has 75 million subscription customers and a total of 170 million monthly active users. The number two is Apple Music with over 40 million paying subscribers - the iPhone company does not offer a free version. (SDA / DPA)