Background. YouTube Music and YouTube Premium: what it is and how they differ

    On June 18, YouTube launched Music and Premium services in Russia. At the price of a cup of coffee per month, Google will provide an opportunity to download video and music into the smartphone’s memory and play content with the screen off. This can be used for free, but if you please see the advertisement.



    What is YouTube Music?


    YouTube Music is a Google music service where you can watch videos and listen to music. It sorts content by genre, artist, album, concert, and mood. Based on your location, search history and views (including regular YouTube), the Music service dynamically slips your favorite artists onto the main screen and recommends new related genres and compositions that you might like in theory. If you are a new user, the service will first ask what you like.


    Why do I need another service, if there is Google Music anyway?


    In Google Music, there is only access to record label tracks, and on YouTube Music, you can also find unofficial covers of users. Well, the video clips, of course.

    What exactly will I pay for?


    There is a basic free subscription, which gives access to all content, but for this you will begin to show ads at the beginning of about every third track (sometimes less) for 5-6 seconds. Plus, you will not be able to listen to music in the background - when the screen is locked, a pause will turn on.



    To disable advertising, listen to songs with a locked screen and save video to your smartphone’s memory, you need to pay a Music Premium subscription:

    • on Google Play - $ 169 / month,
    • Apple AppStore - $ 229 / month,
    • Family subscription - 269 and 349 ₽ / month. respectively.

    But for now, YouTube offers free testing of the service for three months. Then they will automatically start charging the subscription fee depending on your platform and tariff plan.

    What if I already have a paid subscription to Google Music?


    Nothing. In this case, access to all the features of YouTube Music will be free. You can use them in parallel.

    And if the opposite?


    If you subscribe to YouTube Music, then access to Google Music will be free.

    Okay, but what about YouTube Premium?


    YouTube Premium is a similar subscription, but generally applies to all YouTube content, not just music. We can assume that Music Premium is part of YouTube Premium. You can enable it in YouTube settings - on the website or in the application.



    At this rate, you will be saved from advertising in all videos, will open access to YouTube Originals, will give the opportunity to download videos and music to your phone and listen in the background with a locked screen. Price issue:

    • Google Play - $ 199 / month,
    • Apple AppStore - $ 249 / month,
    • Family subscription - 299 and 379 ₽ / month. respectively.

    That is, you can play in the background and regular video too?


    Yes, with a premium premium subscription you can.

    Well, YouTube Originals - what kind of entity?


    Originals is a YouTube section that becomes available after a paid subscription is activated. There is a collection of original TV shows and movies from popular YouTube authors. Something like Amazon or Netflix content, but not so big yet. There is, for example, a sequel to the cult "Toddler-karateka" called Cobra Kai.


    The fate of the bad guy was not very rosy.

    At the time of publication, the content is only in English. Russian subtitles yet, but promise soon.

    Are Red and Premium not the same thing?


    And there is. Previously, YouTube Premium was called YouTube Red, but in May 2018 Google decided to expand the geography of its presence and made a rebranding. Nevertheless, in some places in the background information you can still find a mention of Red. Do not pay attention.

    Is there a separate app for YouTube Music?


    Yes, there is - for Android and iOS. In app stores, it is called YouTube Music, but when installed for some reason it is renamed to YT Music.



    Are there any restrictions on the number of devices in one account?


    Up to 10 mobile devices can be linked to an account at the same time. Some of the ten devices can be untied and tied to new ones. But no more than four per year.

    I also heard about the "smart search". What's this?


    In the cloud collection of music and clips it is not necessary to search by the exact name of the composition, you can simply by the description or the text of the song.


    Suppose Vasya remembers only that in that class clip a yellow doll smoked sausages. He writes in the search, and YouTube tries to find the most suitable results and offers to filter them, if necessary.

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