YouTube has finally revealed its grand plan for music streaming and it comes in the form of YouTube Music.
This new music streaming service is set to launch 22 May, with the US, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South Korea getting the platform first and other countries, including the UK, set to get it in the "coming weeks".
But what exactly is the service? Well, it's YouTube's big music push, something that has been rumored for, well, years now and was recently said to be called YouTube Remix.
According to Google, YouTube Music will be for those looking for music, not just to listen to but also watch, making use of YouTube's extensive music video collection.
YouTube was made for video, not just music," explained Elias Roman, Product Manager, YouTube Music, in a blog post.
"[We're] introducing YouTube Music, a new music streaming service made for music with the magic of YouTube: making the world of music easier to explore and more personalized than ever. The days of jumping back and forth between multiple music apps and YouTube are over."
YouTube Music - the new Google Play?
Digging a little deeper, though, and while it maybe the case that YouTube is a one-size-fits-all music service, Google isn't quite ready to get rid of Google Music Play just yet.
In fact, if you are a subscriber to Google Play Music you get a YouTube Music Premium membership as part of your subscription. Nothing else will change with Google Play Music for now.
The new service promises "a reimagined mobile app and brand new desktop player that are designed for music" and access to thousands of playlists, millions of songs, albums, artist radio and all the music videos you could want.
The news does also mean that YouTube Red is changing and will get a new name: YouTube Premium.
"To extend the features of YouTube Music Premium beyond the music app, we’re soon introducing YouTube Premium, the new name for our YouTube Red subscription service," explained YouTube.
"YouTube Premium includes ad-free, background and offline across all of YouTube, as well as access to all YouTube Originals including Cobra Kai, Step Up: High Water and Youth & Consequences."
Google has been busy making sure that YouTube Red (now YouTube Premium) is a true Netflix rival, adding some decent premium programming. Recently, Cobra Kai was the most watched show on any streaming service and it just announced a new AI docu-series starring Robert Downy Jnr.
Bundling in YouTube Music into YouTube Premium does mean that the price of this service will rise to $11.99 for all new members. It's unclear if YouTube Premium will be rolling out to other countries, however.
As for YouTube Music, it's price will be $9.99 - other pricing is to be announced shortly.
You can find more about YouTube Music here.
