Yesterday, Google announced the release of a new and improved YouTube Music and YouTube Music Premium in the coming weeks. YouTube Music is expected to replace Google Play Music completely, while YouTube Music Premium is advertised as a replacement for YouTube Red. Confused? So are we. In an attempt to clear the air, Google Play Music had this to say in yesterday’s Tweet:
If you’re already a Google play music subscriber, you’ll get YouTube Red (soon to be YouTube Premium) along with YouTube Music Premium.
— Google Play Music (@GooglePlayMusic) May 17, 2018
Related Google to Launch a Refurbished Version of YouTube Music Next Week
The new version of YouTube Music is, for all practical purposes, Google Play Music with YouTube’s music library slapped together with a new skin. The company says that Google Play Music won’t vanish altogether, and users can still keep their playlists, uploads and purchases. YouTube Music comes in two variants; one is free and comes with ads, just like regular YouTube.
The other is subscription based at $9.99/month, and It includes not only most of the library of Google Play Music, but also a treasure trove of tracks which were previously on YouTube but not on Google Play Music. But wait, there’s more, YouTube Premium is a portmanteau of YouTube Red and YouTube Music, which will be available for $11.99 a month. It will include all the Music Premium features and the old YouTube Red features. Here’s a table that should hopefully clarify what you’ll get with each service.
Related YouTube Music 2.17 to Bring Location-Based Playlists, Auto Downloads, and More
To reiterate, existing Google Play Music subscribers continue to pay what did for access you YouTube Music Premium and YouTube Premium. Additionally, users with family plans will also remain unaffected. New users, however, will have to cough up the fee stated above. YouTube Premium is rolling sometime next week and YouTube Music Premium subscription is set for launch on May 22nd, so Google Play Music subscribers can expect to see a notification about the upgrade soon-ish. What will be the fate of YouTube Red and Google Play Music? Nobody knows. If you’re still confused about what is what, don’t worry, you’re not the only one.
