Overview
YouTube's latest push to bump up revenue will see Google parent company Alphabet Inc. introduce a paid music service of its own, rivalling the likes of Apple Music and Spotify.
According to Bloomberg Technology, the service, dubbed Remix, could be available from as early as March next year. It's suggested that YouTube is currently in talks with the big guns at Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment, as well as independent music digital rights agency Merlin.
YouTube pulls more than one billion users each month, and while its music videos are the ones that get the most hits, the site has long copped criticism for giving away those tunes for nothing. All that free content means little compensation for record companies and artists.
It's far from Google's first foray into the music-streaming biz, with Google Play Music launching in 2011, and YouTube Red (formerly YouTube Music Key) offering ad-free videos to subscribers.
But while neither have these have proved all that successful, the soon-to-launch Remix will play things a little differently, expected to incorporate both YouTube-style videos and on-demand streaming, a la Spotify.
If you regularly use YouTube to listen to songs and mixes, this could drastically change that. Stay tuned and we'll let you know when it lands.
Via Bloomberg Technology.