Rather than being integrated into the Red app, YouTube Music will function as a standalone app, although a monthly payment of $9.99 will cover membership to both.
At a demo last week, YouTube Music Product Manager T. Jay Fowler showed off a number of the features he thinks will set the product apart from the current, and some would argue overcrowded, streaming landscape. The most obvious differentiating factor is the size of YouTube’s catalog — while other services tend to have only official content, YouTube has tons of user generated content, as well as remixes and live performances. Settings in the app allow users to focus on a song or artist and then set what types of content they want to hear — you can choose between all official content, or a mix of live content and covers and other versions of a track. For completists, this is certainly a fun feature, but will casual listeners want to sort through fifty versions of Adele’s “Hello?”
The app also provides lean-forward and lean-back experiences that can be customized. While it’s totally possible to just cherry pick and build your own playlists, you can also enter an artist and have a playlist be auto-generated. A slider allows users to pick whether they just want more of an artist’s music or whether they want a more discovery-focused experience. YouTube Music also serves up a daily playlist that automatically caches to a user’s device, so that they don’t get on an airplane or subway and realize they forgot to save music for the ride. Although YouTube is primarily known as a video site, users have the option of switching between video or audio-only modes.
"the app is very good… now comes the biggest challenge"
Based on the demo, the app is very good – it’s easy to navigate and the suite of features are great. But now comes the biggest challenge — getting users to pony up the cash. Is ad-free listening and offline caching, along with a Google Play subscription and YouTube Red content, enough to get users to pony up? And is the fact that the app is separate from other YouTube apps going to confuse users who don’t fully understand exactly what they’re paying for? If users want to watch the latest from PewDiePie, and then the new Justin Bieber video, will having to toggle between apps hinder the experience?
When YouTube launched ten years ago, it helped establish a world where free, on-demand video content was the norm. Now they’re trying, at least a little, to put the genie back in the bottle — but is it too late? YouTube Music is a well-designed, technically marvelous app — but will it be able to find a paying audience?
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