YouTube's Rumored New Music Service Gets a NameGoogle's YouTube appears set to take on Spotify and Pandora.
ByNina Zipkin•
Following months of speculation, YouTube is reportedly getting into the music-subscription game with a new service called YouTube Music Key.
Android Policehas leaked images of the new service andreportsthat YouTube Music Key will allow users to listen to more than 20 million tracks without ad interruptions, store their playlists offline and has an audio-only playback feature for music videos for when other tabs are open on a mobile device.
Related:Heads Up Music Lovers: YouTube to Create Streaming Music Service
It is being reported that the same time YouTube Music Key makes its debut, Google will rename Google Play All Access to Google Play Music Key to provide a more cohesive branding strategy. YouTube Music Key will offer a 30-day free trial and cost $9.99 a month, the same fee Google Play subscribers currently pay.
Music Key subscribers will reportedly get access to content exclusive to YouTube like concert footage, covers and remixes. While there is no word on when the service will go live, Google haspurchasedthe domain name youtubemusickey.com.
Related:Universal Music Looking for Next Big YouTube Star With New Record Label
How will Music Key stack up to its competitors? It has the potential to have a leg up thanks to the existing Google Play customer base, but YouTube will be entering a crowded field that has seen a great deal of activity of late -- from Apple's buy of Beats Music and podcasting-appSwellto YouTube owner Google'sacquisitionof Songza.
Meanwhile, it's not just the tech giants that have entered the fray. Famed musician Neil Young has taken to Kickstarter tofundhis digital music service PonoMusic and T-Mobile hasteamed up与Rhapsody创建unRadio subscribers can pay $4 a month. And that still leaves stalwarts like Pandora and Spotify, with valuations of$5.6 billionand$4 billionrespectively.
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