YouTube will not be subtle about it: they really, really want you to subscribe to their paid music service. If you’re using the video streaming service to serve as your music player, they will frustrate you by bombarding you with ads until you get so annoyed that you’ll eventually just subscribe to the subscription music service that they’ll be launching soon. This isn’t a secret strategy but was actually revealed by their global head of music, Lyor Cohen during an interview at the South by Southwest music festival.
YouTube has long been accused by the music industry of hosting videos that violate copyright and not paying artists and recording companies enough for letting their music be streamed by people for free. The new paid service aims to silence those critics and also aim to turn a profit for a company that has mostly been known for letting people access their products and services for free. But Cohen shared that they are planning to “show more ads or promotional prompts” so they will be able to upsell to their soon to be launched service.
Aside from ad-free access to music, the service will also have exclusive videos, playlists, and other offerings that will seek to rival that of Spotify and Apple Music but through music with videos. They’re currently already funding videos by rapper G-Eazy and pop star Camila Cabello. Cohen also shared that this move is to be good partners to the music industry and record companies in turn hope that Google will invest enough to be able to compete in the market.
There is no news yet as to when the service will be launched, although it is now already used by thousands of Google employees. We can expect a significant marketing campaign when it officially becomes available to the market.
VIA: Bloomberg
