YouTube Launches Premium Music Service, Challenging Spotify and Apple
*By Alisha Haridasani*
After a series of stops and starts, YouTube will launch a music streaming service later this month to compete directly with Spotify and Apple Music.
The ad-supported YouTube Music will be available to users for free, and an ad-free version, YouTube Music Premium, will cost about $10 a month. There will be a mobile app and a desktop player designed to stream pre-programmed playlists, personalized music suggestions, live performances, and music videos, according to a [statement](https://youtube.googleblog.com/2018/05/youtube-music-new-music-streaming.html) from YouTube.
To consolidate its various video and music products, Google will include access to YouTube Music Premium for Google Play Music subscribers at no additional cost.
In addition to the standalone music product, YouTube is re-branding its music and video YouTube Red service as YouTube Premium. The ad-free subscription service will go from $10 to $12 a month, but it includes the new ad-free premium music service.
YouTubes official entry into the premium music streaming business has been a long time coming: More than 1 billion users a month already use YouTube to “discover new music.” A [study](http://www.ifpi.org/downloads/Music-Consumer-Insight-Report-2017.pdf) published in 2017 estimates that YouTube accounts for 46 percent of time spent online listening to on-demand music.
The leading premium music streaming service, Spotify, has 75 million paid subscribers and is expected to hit 96 million by the end of the year. Rival Apple Music [reportedly](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/apple-music-hits-50-million-subscribers-1112018) has 50 million paid and free users.
Jack Morrison, CEO and co-founder Scythe Robotics, joins 'Cheddar Innovates' to discuss how it's bringing innovation to the landscaping industry with its autonomous, all-electric lawn mowers, and how this is addressing the labor crisis in the landscaping industry.
Naveen Jain, Co-Founder of Yat Labs, joins 'Cheddar Innovates' to discuss how a 'Yat' is changing the way people think about their online identities, and why artists like Questlove and G-Eazy are backing this idea.
Mike Proulx, VP and research director at Forrester, joined Cheddar to talk all about Disney's lackluster Q3 earnings after the company reported a slowdown in Disney+ subscriber growth. Proulx discussed a Forrester study that found 45 percent of U.S. adults subscribed to streaming services because of the pandemic but 26 percent had plans to cancel a service over the next two years. "We're always going to look at growth, and we also have to look at engagement," he said. "But both of those metrics come down to having either original or exclusive content that will offer value to the subscriber base."
Anthony Sassine, a senior investment strategist at KraneShares, joined Cheddar to discuss Rivian's historic public debut after the company achieved an $86 billion valuation — more than either Ford or GM. He said the big IPO was a great opportunity for the U.S. to position itself as a leader in the EV space after lagging behind Europe and China. "When you have certainty for growth for the next 10 to 15 years, investors are willing to pay more," he said. "So, this is a massive opportunity for the whole space."
The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Uber, alleging the ride-hailing company discriminates against customers with disabilities. The DOJ is arguing that its two-minute wait period before a cancellation fee is applied violates the Americans With Disabilities Act.
