YouTube To Launch On-Demand Music Service This Year, Says Sources

YouTube is reportedly planning on launching its own on-demand music service, something said to be similar to Spotify but with video tossed into the mix. Furthermore, there won't be much of a wait for the service if the leak pans out, with the sources saying that the music service will launch sometime towards the end of this year.

The information comes from "several sources familiar with the plans" who spoke to the folks at Billboard. According to these individuals, the on-demand service will have both a free and a premium service, with the catalog of songs being similar to what is on Google's All Access music offerings. With the premium service, subscribers would also have offline music and no advertisements.

Though not guaranteed, it is said to be "likely" that the free users will have unlimited access to the music tracks, which will also be available on mobile devices in addition to the Web. As the sources pointed out, the premium version of the service would give YouTube more freedom over what it can offer its subscribers.

Many online music listeners already use YouTube to listen to music, finding videos from the likes of both official music group accounts and those uploaded by users on the side. With an on-demand video service, YouTube will be able to cater to these users while increasing its revenue from this and giving more options overall, including the ability to stream full albums.

SOURCE: Billboard