YouTube to launch a premium music service

On Tuesday, May 22, YouTube will launch their new music streaming service, simply called YouTube Music, which will replace Google Play Music.

YouTube also plans to introduce YouTube Premium, the new name for the YouTube Red subscription service.

Free, ad-supported accounts will be available, while the subscription tier, YouTube Music Premium, will cost $9.99 (about £7.40) a month.

This new streaming service will initially only be launched in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South Korea before being rolled out in 14 additional countries, including the UK.

A previous mobile app, also called YouTube Music, gave YouTube Red subscribers the ability to play YouTube videos with the screen off. The standard, ad-supported version of YouTube works only with the screen turned on and the browser or app in the foreground.

Despite being replaced, Google Play Music will continue to exist as a cloud locker service while existing subscribers will gain access to the new music streaming service.

By Daniëlle Kruger

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