For the last few months, we have been hearing about a new streaming service called YouTube Remix. This service was expected to kill Google Play Music, and it has arrived under the moniker of YouTube Music.
New YouTube Music?
Yep, that’s right. The YouTube Music that has been around for quite some time is being revamped and comes with a new price tag. the application seems to largely be unchanged, as screenshots shared by Google show a three-tabbed interface.
However, the real question here is what this means for Google Play Music and YouTube Red. The reason that YouTube Red is thrown into the mix is that a new service called ‘YouTube Premium’ was also announced.
YouTube Premium
This new service will allow you to stream ad-free music, ad-free video, and give you access to YouTube Originals. It will be priced at $11.99 per month, while YouTube Music Premium will be priced at $9.99, the current price for YouTube Red.
On the YouTube Music front, Google claims “a reimagined mobile app and brand new desktop player” are on the way. And for those that are already subscribed to GPM, things will not be changed, for now.
Google Play Music
Instead, Google Play Music subscribers will automatically get access to YouTube Music Premium. However, if you want the complete ad-free YouTube experience, you’ll have to spring for the YouTube Premium subscription.
If this all seems like it is going in a bunch of circles, that’s because it is. Yet again, Google is trying to reinvent the wheel by introducing a slew of new services to replace existing options.
It makes sense to a certain extent thanks to the brand recognition that YouTube has. And if Google wants to take on Spotify and Apple Music, a rebrand of GPM may be in order.
Unfortunately, there is no specific mention of whether Google Play Music will go away, or be absorbed by YouTube Music Premium. Instead, we will just have to wait and see if Google wants to keep all of these different services available.
What about YouTube Red?
Don’t worry, we didn’t forget about the YouTube Red subscribers. Google states that Red members “will automatically” receive access to YouTube Premium when it launches.
The best part about that is that you will continue to pay the same amount for Premium as you were paying for Red. Although there is some nice fine print stating “if that price changes in the future, we will give plenty of notice”.
Both of these new services and apps will be launching next week, on May 22nd. Let us know what you think about these announcements and if you are interested in seeing what Google is doing.
