Rumours surrounding a YouTube based music service have been circulating for some time, but it appears that the service could be almost ready to launch. Android Police have released a report which outlines the service, as well as plans to rebrand Google Play Music All Access.
The new YouTube service will be called YouTube Music Key, a streaming service which will offer similar features to Google Play Music All Access, it will contain access to 20 million ad-free, “high-quality” tracks which will be able to be streamed, or downloaded for offline playback, though despite being on YouTube, it will be audio-only. There will be other bonuses which will leverage the YouTube platform, including concert footage, covers, and remixes.
Pricing wise, YouTube Music Key will be similarly priced to the current monthly price of Google Play Music All Access, which is currently priced at US$9.99 per month. Similarly to Google Play Music All Access, YouTube Music Key would include a 30-Day trial period before the monthly fee is activated. The bonus of YouTube Music Key, appears to be that the service will include Google Play Music All Access, which will apparently be re-branded as Google Play Music Key to match the naming convention. Pricing in Australia – if indeed it launches here – would most likely be similarly scaled, so look to pay around $11.99 per month.
Whether existing Google Play All Access members are offered the additional YouTube Music Key services, is unknown. This addition of services, would provide incentive to ‘upgrade’ early adopters of Google Play Music who currently pay just US$7.99 per month to a higher rate. If Google could transition current early adopters of Google Play Music All Access to a new contract with a higher monthly fee, it would increase the average revenue per user price overall.
Setting aside the seemingly terrible name, the service itself sounds quite good for lovers of music. Rollout to international Google customers is the next question, we’ll have to wait and see.
Does YouTube Music Key sound like your jam? As a Google Play Music All Access early adopter would you ‘upgrade’ your monthly fee to get access to YouTube Music Key?
