YouTube music service a "near term goal" says app's CEO

Just the other day, we told you about a new app called FireTube. Available from the Google Play Store, FireTube allows users to turn YouTube into a music service. Maybe by coincidence, or maybe not, YouTube's CEO announced on Monday that a music service for YouTube is a "near term goal". Pardon our less than enthusiastic response to the comments by Susan Wojcicki, but this is all beginning to feel like deja vu.

Last August, there was speculation that a subscription service called YouTube Music Key was on the way. Wojcicki, talking yesterday at the code/mobile event, said that YouTube was still figuring out what options would be made available to users. This sounds like an indication that pricing tiers have yet to be decided on.

With YouTube's music offering expected to include music videos and concert footage, this becomes a more unwieldy project for the lawyers on both sides. And amid talk that Apple is looking to reboot Beats Music at a 50% discount to current prices, the whole streaming music industry is in flux right now.

Changes could also be coming to the YouTube video app. Based on what Wojcicki was saying on Monday, it sounds like she is considering adding an ad-free subscription service for YouTube videos that would be offered for a monthly subscription fee. The current ad supported free service would probably remain an option for users.


source: Recode via Engadget