Google on YouTube Music Service: “You Can See It Soon”
Since late-2013, rumors have swirled about a supposed music streaming service in the works over at Google-owned video juggernaut YouTube. At this point, the service is less of a rumor and more of an inevitability, with screenshots and plan details for the “YouTube Music Key” having leaked just this past August. Today, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki pretty much gave up the ghost, confirming that the service is happening, but demurred in terms of providing details about its launch.
A post on CNET reports that Wojcicki responded to questions about the service at the Re/code Mobile conference, saying that they’re “working on it.”
She continued:
“I think there’s a lot of opportunity. It’s amazing how much music we have. […] I remain optimistic that you can see it soon.”
From what we’ve seen of YouTube’s plans for the service, subscribers will be able to pay ten dollars a month for access to over 20 million songs. Additionally, the service will allow YouTube to continue playing in the background of a user’s mobile device while they do other things – a welcome change for anyone who’s wanted to jam out to a song while trying to read an email or use Maps.
Recently, Google has relaunched its Play Music service with new features integrated from its acquisition of Songza. As to how Google will integrate its YouTube music service into its current offerings remains to be seen. The leaks from August suggested that having a subscription to one service would also provide a subscription to the other service – but as of now, it’s not clear how the two services will differ from each other in terms of selection.
Still, it’s good to know that Google isn’t trying to hide the fact that the service is in the works. Just what it is that’s holding it up from launching is a mystery, but one it seems that Wojcicki wants to solve pretty quickly.
[Source: CNET]