YouTube has a new music subscription service coming in March according to a new report, citing sources familiar with the matter, and stating that it already has a deal with Warner Music Group for the service in addition to holding current talks with multiple other music labels including Sony Music Entertainment, and Universal for the rights to stream music through the service once it launches, in addition to Merlin which is a group of independent labels, though none of those other labels have been confirmed just yet. There’s also been no mention of what the deal consists of between YouTube and Warner, or what the terms will be between YouTube and any of the other labels that may decide to sign on.
The new service doesn’t have an official name just yet but the report claims that it’s internal name is called Remix, and will offer on-demand streaming options for songs, radio stations, and more in a similar fashion to Spotify, though not necessarily exactly like the rival service. The service will also have some features that are like what YouTube already offers though no specifics were given in terms of what those features would look like or how users would be able to interact with them.
Based on the limited details about the service so far YouTube plans to combine both parts of YouTube Red and Google Play Music, allowing subscribers to pick music to stream and video clips to watch all for a set monthly fee. At this time no prices for the service have been mentioned though it is possible that YouTube is already discussing costs internally and trying to settle on something that makes sense. YouTube Red, which is basically just YouTube without ads, costs subscribers $9.99 a month, so it’s possible that this new service could end up costing a similar amount on a month to month basis. In addition to signing on Warner Music Group and potentially signing Sony, Universal, and Merlin, YouTube is also reportedly in talks with music artists themselves to help promote the service, though it wasn’t specified whether or not the promotion would happen before or after the service’s launch. Although the service is supposed to launch in March there is still no exact date.