YouTube is launching a new streaming service called YouTube Music. Part of YouTube Premium, which will replace YouTube Red, the service will be very similar to Spotify.
Subscribers will have access to millions of songs, artist radio, and playlists through desktop and mobile apps. One difference between the new platform and Spotify, however, is that you can search for a song with a description or random lyrics, which could potentially be pretty cool. YouTube said in their official statement:
YouTube was made for watching, which meant fans have had to jump back and forth between multiple music apps and YouTube. Those days will soon be over. On Tuesday, May 22, we’ll begin rolling out YouTube Music, a new music streaming service made for music on top of the magic of YouTube: making the world of music easier to explore and more personalized than ever. Whether you want to listen, watch or discover, it’s all here…
YouTube Music search works even if fans don’t know exactly what they’re looking for … we’ll find it if they describe it (try “that hipster song with the whistling”) or give us some lyrics (try “I make money moves”).
The app will also recommend music based on your location – for example, relaxing music if you are in the airport or high-energy music for the gym. As marketers, reaching people where they are is one of the top priorities of any business. Doing this authentically and successfully can be a challenge, even to global companies. We are eager to see how this feature takes off.
YouTube Music will be available on May 22, in a free version, or a paid, ad-free version for $9.99 a month. Or, users can purchase a YouTube Premium (the rebranded YouTube Red) subscription for $11.99 a month, which includes access to YouTube Music, as well as YouTube original streaming content. Current Google Play subscribers get a Premium subscription for free.
Will it be different enough to draw people away from Spotify? Seems doubtful. Spotify has lead the music streaming industry since the beginning, and YouTube’s effort doesn’t revolutionary enough to pull away dedicated users. We’ll see if YouTube Music catches on.