Ever imagined an easy way to indulge in listening to the trove of songs on YouTube? Well, that’s a possibility now. Google has officially launched YouTube Music in India. A music streaming service with the magic of YouTube. Along with YouTube Music, Google has also launched YouTube Premium, which lets you get away from ads and comes with boasts of other features too.
YouTube Music in its free form is an ad-supported music streaming service. It packs everything you sort from a music streaming service, official songs, albums, thousands of playlists and artist radio. But what makes YouTube Music differ from other music streaming services is YouTube’s tremendous catalogue of remixes, live performances, covers and music videos. In addition, everything is organized and personalized to your listening habit and mood.
Going one step ahead, you could subscribe to YouTube Music Premium. It’s mainly a paid membership which allows you to play YouTube music videos ad-free, in the background (on mobile devices while you toggle between apps or when you lock your phone), along with offline download support. All this music experience for Rs 99 a month.
I would say, playing YouTube music videos or other videos in the background while you do other things on your smartphones, is something that we all crave for a long time. It’s not available in standard YouTube experience.
To try out YouTube Music Premium, Google is offering a three-month free subscription to the service. You could access YouTube Music via a mobile app on Android or iOS devices or through a web browser. In any case, you have an active subscription to Google Play Music, then YouTube Music Premium membership will be available for free as part of your subscription each month.
YouTube Music Features highlights
- Music videos, official songs, albums, singles, remixes, live performances, covers and exclusive, hard-to-find music that one can find only on YouTube.
- Thousands of playlists across any genre, mood, activity, or language.
- Personalised music recommendation, powered by Google’s AI.
- Smart search to find that song which you only remember the tune.
- YouTube Premium membership (Rs 99 per month)
- Offline download support for songs, videos, albums or playlists.
- Un-interrupted, complete ad-free music experience.
- Background playback on your smartphone.
“We are introducing YouTube Music, our made-for-music app with the magic of YouTube: making the world of music easier to explore and more personalized than ever to users in India,” said T.Jay Fowler, Director of Product Management, Music Products, YouTube in Google India blog. “The days of jumping back and forth between multiple music apps and YouTube are over. Whether you want to listen, watch or discover, it’s all here,” he added.
YouTube Premium
Wait, there is something more. Along with YouTube Music launch, Google has also introduced YouTube Premium. It’s Rs 129 a month subscription service which also includes the free membership to YouTube Music Premium. In addition to all the YouTube Music Premium benefits, YouTube Premium subscription will give you ad-free experience on all videos on normal YouTube along with background play option and offline download support. You would also get access to YouTube Originals like Cobra Kai, BTS: Burn The Stage.
YouTube Originals won’t make a dent to the premium video streaming services like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. But, YouTube Premium with its ad-free video playback experience would definitely enhance your YouTube watching experience.