It"s no secret that Google has been working on a YouTube music subscription service, but what is also clear is that the process of launching that service has been anything but easy. Multiple sources over the last year or so have reported numerous difficulties between YouTube and the music industry.
After it emerged that Google was offering some of the worst royalty rates in the industry to labels, the company confirmed in June that it will drop any indie labels or artists from the platform who do not agree to its new non-negotiable contracts, under new licensing terms that affect all content on YouTube.
Speaking this week at the Re/code Mobile conference, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki would not comment on when exactly the new music subscription service will launch but, as CNET reports, she did confirm that the company is "working on it". She said: "I think there"s a lot of opportunity. It"s amazing how much music we have... I remain optimistic that you can see it soon."
The new YouTube streaming service is expected to offer at least two tiers: a free music service supported by ads; and an ad-free paid subscription offering. Last week, Microsoft announced that it is dropping its free Xbox Music streaming tier, with the service soon to be exclusive to those paying for a subscription.
Source: CNET