Update: Google/YouTube have officially spoken about the new services and you can check it out here.
The much rumoured YouTube Music relaunch/rebrand whatever you want to call it is definitely on, with a signup page and information about the service now available.
The launch, which is not a complete launch, with that expected to happen next Tuesday – Wednesday our time – will see YouTube Red disappear and be replaces with YouTube Music Premium available for $9.99USD per month which includes services such as ad-free music, listen in the background and downloadable content, or YouTube Premium for $11.99USD per month which includes all that plus the new YouTube Originals series like Cobra Kai and the upcoming Impulse series.
The YouTube Music signup page has been opened up for interested parties with a Google or Gmail email address can add their details.
From the looks of the pricing sheet, this service will be completely separate to Google Play Music, so it could be a big bump in price for a lot of people who have enjoyed the YouTube Red/Google Play Music bundle since it launched.
There’s no mention of the YouTube Remix service that’s been rumoured, with rumours pointing to Google transitioning all existing Google Play Music users to the service by the end of the year.
There’s a lot of questions to be answered here about how this affect their Google Play Music streaming service (and their cloud locker), as well as Family Plan users signed up for YouTube Red and we’re going to have to wait for Google to answer them when they launch the service next week.
If you’re interested in learning more, head over to the YouTube Music signup page and add your details, but we’ll likely hear more next week.
What a confused mess. What’s the point of getting this, particularly over something like spotify, that can be used in many more places? And since I have MP3s of most of the music I think is actually worthwhile listening to, why would I pay $10pm for edge cases that I don’t yet own? It’s not as if there’s a vast tidal wave of decent new music coming out every week – or that after paying $10 I’d actually own it anyway. They really need a tier down at the $3-5 region, akin to the Amazon Music Unlimited Echo plan, as… Read more »
Needs Android Auto support or I won’t even try it
Is this going to affect the free trial I still have of YouTube Red which ends in July?
Likely not, but we’ll know more when it’s officially launched. There’s likely to be a grace period as they transition existing users over to the new service.