YouTube Music is here: Everything you need to know
- YouTube has launched a brand new music streaming platform and it is finally available in the Philippines
- YouTube Music now not only houses just music videos, but also albums, remixes, singles, live performances, and covers
- Here’s what you need to know about the new streaming platform on the market
YouTube has launched a brand new music streaming platform and it is finally available in the Philippines.
Launched on Thursday, YouTube Music now not only houses just music videos, but also albums, remixes, singles, live performances, and covers. It provides a tailored interface for service towards music streaming. It allows users to browse through songs and other music videos on YouTube based on genres, playlists, and recommendations.
The app has a home screen that recommends playlists, albums, and songs based on user activity, as well as a “smart search” that allows YouTube music to find a track based on lyrics – which is ideal for people who can’t remember titles.
“We wanted to showcase and highlight the large and available music library that’s available on YouTube,” said Gabby Roxas, head of marketing of Google Philippines talking about the launch of the app.
“YouTube is primarily built on video but now we’ve come up with a specialized platform that’s essentially for music,” he added. “But interestingly when we listen to music, we tend to switch between the audio and video. There’s a seamless switch when you’re [on the app].”
YouTube Music’s Qualities
The app’s build and interface is quite similar to other streaming platforms. YouTube music also as a free, ad-supported option and a paid monthly “premium” subscription that enables users ad-free, playback, udio-only background playback, and downloading songs for offline playback. These are priced at P129 for Android users and the web, and P169 for iOS users.
For those who want a discount, there is an available plan for people who are living in the same household. The “family plan” is a monthly subscription of YouTube Music Premium that is good for five users. Prices are at P199 for Android and web and P259 for iOS.
Of course, there’s a student discount! Students get to enjoy a discounted rate of P65 per month for YouTube Music Premium services. But in order to avail of the discount, they have to meet certain conditions – such as being enroll in a school where YouTube student memberships are offered, or having an ID approved by the verification platform SheerID.
But there’s a catch though. There’s no sugar-coating the fact that YouTube Music as a free user on Android is not a stellar experience. Notwithstanding having ads every three to six songs, you can’t leave the Now Playing screen when you want to play songs so it hogs your screen and your battery. This feature is unlike other platform services like Spotify or iTunes.
So, YouTube Music is worlds better when you unlock its paid features. But in any case, it seems that with the optimized searching Google provides for the platform and its other premium features, YouTube Premium is worth the monthly bill.
YouTube Music has certainly grown a lot since its first launch back in 2018, and it added more features. With more songs to listen to and great bundles to choose from, this is a great contender in the streaming platform business.
