One isn’t enough: Google set to launch ‘YouTube Music Key’ service to go along with Google Play

By Trevor Mogg August 19, 2014

youtube replaces annotations with cards now header 2

Rumors of a YouTube music subscription service have been knocking around for months now, and until this week the last we heard was that design issues back in April had caused its launch to be delayed.

We now hear – courtesy of Android Police – that the Google-owned video streaming giant will call its service ‘YouTube Music Key,’ contradicting reports toward the end of last year suggesting it’d be called ‘Music Pass.’

According to Android Police’s unnamed source, YouTube Music Key will comprise ad-free music for $9.99 a month, a fee that will also offer access to Google Play Music All Access, set to be rebranded as Google Play Music Key.

Related: Music streaming services must evolve to survive, report says

Offline playback of music videos and songs will also form part of YouTube’s expected service, with an audio-only option for background and screen-off listening.

More than 20 million music tracks will be offered to members, with the service hoping to tempt users with additional content such as concert footage, covers and remixes. Complete albums and artist discographies will, of course, also form part of the service.

YouTube Music Key is expected to recommend new tracks for users based on their YouTube viewing habits, according to Monday’s report.

A free trial month will be offered in a bid to get music fans hooked.

There’s still no word on a launch date, with Google apparently having issues negotiating contracts with independent record labels to bring content to its upcoming service.

It was reported back in April that Google executives were keen to have the paid-for YouTube music service working perfectly from day one – ie. no beta version that’s knocked into shape over time.

With YouTube already bursting with music of every genre imaginable – and all free to watch – one of Google’s biggest challenges will be to convince users Music Key is worth $9.99 a month. In addition, it needs to offer enough unique features to tempt users away from established music streaming services such as Spotify and Rdio.

Hopefully we won’t have to wait too much longer to see what the Mountain View company comes up with.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Mobile

The Moto 360 and other older Wear OS watches can now download YouTube Music

Moto 360 watch face

Google is further expanding YouTube Music's availability on Wear OS to even more older watches. The company initially launched the app on Wear OS 3, with exclusivity to the Galaxy Watch 4, but rolled it out to a selection of older smartwatches powered by the Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform last month. A new report notes that smartwatches like the Moto 360 can now get it, too.

Google has confirmed the expanded selection, but the company did not share exactly which watches were eligible. Instead, Wear OS users are encouraged to check the Play Store and see if their device is eligible. As it has been seen on the Moto 360 and TAG Heuer Connected watches, 9to5Google speculates it could be rolling out to watches powered by the Snapdragon Wear 3100. This should encompass quite a few Wear OS watches, including the Fossil Gen 5, the Montblanc Summit, and the Suunto 7.

Mobile

YouTube Music is finally fixing its most annoying limitation for some free users

youtube launches music feat

A select group of YouTube listeners will have plenty to sing about on November 3. Starting that day, YouTube Music will allow music to continue playing in the background, such as when your screen is turned off or when you’re performing other mobile tasks, for some user of its free service. The catch, however, is that this option will only be available in Canada.

YouTube hasn’t announced any further rollouts in other countries as of yet. A lack of a date in any other country, however, seems to be a not-so-good sign that it will still be a while before YouTube unveils it anywhere else.

Mobile

Google is finally bringing YouTube Music to older Wear OS watches

youtube launches music feat

Google earlier this year brought the YouTube Music app to Samsung's new Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic watches which both run Wear OS 3. It is now doing the same to older Wear OS watches running Wear OS 2. Not all watches will get it at immediately, though. The company will deliver it first to a select few Android smartwatches, before then rolling it out to more devices "later this year" via the Google Play Store.

The initial app rollout will come sometime this week, and it'll hit the Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch (Michael Kors Access 6 version included), the Mobvoi’s TicWatch Pro 3 GPS, the TicWatch Pro 3 Cellular/LTE, and the TicWatch E3. While Google doesn't exactly say it, these watches are all more powerful Snapdragon Wear 4100 watches. It's possible the company still needs more time to optimize the app for older Wear OS watches which typically have much weaker hardware.