YouTube to launch new music streaming service on May 22
YouTube has announced that it will launch a new music streaming service called YouTube Music on May 22. YouTube Music will allow users to listen to "official songs, albums, thousands of playlists and artist radio plus YouTube's tremendous catalog of remixes, live performances, covers and music videos." It will first roll out to the US, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South Korea.
Personalized playlists based on history and usage patterns
YouTube Music, to be available in the form of a mobile app and a desktop player, will be a highly organized and personalized service. Its home screen will dynamically recommend songs based on your history, location, and activity. For example, if you are at an airport, it will suggest something relaxing and if you are at the gym, it will suggest something upbeat.
YouTube Music can be seen directly competing with Spotify
While the ad-supported service will be free for all, it'll also offer a paid YouTube Music Premium membership for $9.99 (Rs. 676) that will be ad-free and enable background listening and downloading. Further, if you already subscribe to Google Play Music, you'll automatically get a YouTube Music Premium membership as a part of it.
Google AI at work again
Users will be able to search music on YouTube Music even if they can't recall what exactly they're looking for. They can try describing a song ("that hipster song with the whistling") and even search through lyrics ("I make money moves").
YouTube Red being rebranded as YouTube Premium
YouTube is also rebranding its YouTube Red premium video subscription service to YouTube Premium. YouTube Red gives users access to its library of premium video content including YouTube Originals like Cobra Kai, Step Up: High Water, and Youth & Consequences. It is ad-free and allows for background video playing and offline playback after downloading.
YouTube Premium to soon expand its Originals selection
While existing Red users can continue to avail the service at its existing price, new users will be charged $2 more. This means that the service will be priced at $11.99 (Rs. 810) for all new members since it'll now include YouTube Music as well.
