Google is also launching in Italy YouTube Music and YouTube Music Premium, the music streaming application to counter the success of Spotify
YouTube has launched its challenge to Spotify. Google, through its social-video platform, has just made usable for all Italian users YouTube Music and YouTube Premium, a clear answer to the famous music streaming application. At the moment, the Google service is active in 17 different countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia and Canada.
Just like Spotify, YouTube Music will have a free version, with ads, and a paid version (called YouTube Music Premium) that will cost 9.99 per month, the same price as Spotify Premium. For the first three months, however, YouTube Music Premium will be free for all users with a Google account. YouTube Music will work thanks to a specific application on both smartphones and tablets, on Android, iOS and Windows Phone operating systems. There is also a web player, compatible with Windows and MacOS operating systems, useful if we want to use YouTube Music or YouTube Music Premium directly from our desktop or laptop.
How YouTube Music works
YouTube Music breaks with YouTube’s tradition linked to videos uploaded by users. Google’s new streaming music service will focus exclusively on songs, music videos and concerts. The Google application works in a way that is very similar to Spotify. We’ll be able to search for a song or an artist, but also an album to play. We’ll be able to create our own playlists, or rely on those created by genres, events or moods. Interesting is the completely new possibility of searching for a song for which we don’t know the title or the artist. Just search for example “last song by Vasco Rossi” or enter some parts of the lyrics of the song to get an exact match of what we are looking for. On YouTube Music we’ll also find cover versions, live concerts and unreleased remixes to listen to. Google has also created personalized playlists: for example, after a few days of using Google’s music streaming service, a list of songs adapted to our tastes will be created, but we can also receive recommendations based on where we are or what we’re doing at the moment. For example, if we’re running, YouTube Music will suggest motivational playlists and so on.
Aside YouTube Music and YouTube Music Premium comes YouTube Premium, basically the old YouTube Red that was already active in the US. This costs 11.99 euros per month and in addition to the advantages of YouTube Music Premium, i.e. no ads, downloading tracks and listening in the background, it also offers the possibility to follow YouTube Originals shows.