YouTube Premium Replacing Red; New YouTube Music Service To Launch Next Week

Google has announced that YouTube Red is being replaced by YouTube Premium and its brand new YouTube Music service will launch next week.

Goodbye Red, Hello YouTube Premium

YouTube Red was launched back in 2015 and it charges users $9.99 a month to stream content without ads, download videos for offline viewing and watch Red original shows. That is now being replaced by YouTube Premium, which will cost $11.99 when it officially launches.

YouTube Premium will still feature the same benefits that customers were getting from their Red subscriptions. Current YouTube Red subscribers won’t see an increase in their monthly bill and those who join now won’t pay $11.99 a month either. The higher price will only be applicable to those who sign up when YouTube Premium officially launches.

Google didn’t give out an exact date when YouTube Premium will be available, but it will arrive soon in regions where Red is already available, namely: the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South Korea. YouTube Premium will also be made available in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The New YouTube Music

There’s already a YouTube Music service, but Google is introducing a new version of it. The current version of the service is a slightly modified YouTube app that’s only accessible if users have a YouTube Red subscription. The new YouTube Music will be completely its own service that will have its own desktop player, according to Android Police.

Like Spotify, the new YouTube Music will have its own app and will have a free ad-supported tier. The service will have a personalized home screen where it can provide recommendations based on the user’s listening behavior. The music streaming service will also provide users with thousands of playlists. The service will also feature music videos and live performances from the most popular artists.

For those who don’t like ads when listening to tunes, they can also get a YouTube Music Premium subscription that will cost $9.99 a month. Users will also have access to the service if they’re subscribed to YouTube Premium, which costs $11.99 a month. For those who are already subscribed to Google Play Music, they won’t have to worry about anything.

“If you are a subscriber to Google Play Music, good news, you get a YouTube Music Premium membership as part of your subscription each month,” YouTube said on its blog. “And if you use Google Play Music, nothing will change -- you’ll still be able to access all of your purchased music, uploads and playlists in Google Play Music just like always.”

The new YouTube Music experience will be available on May 22 in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South Korea. YouTube says the service will also be more widely available in the “coming weeks” in other places including Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.