The service would likely offer free music streaming paid for by ads as well as an ad-
free subscription option, according to Fortune, which says it was briefed by sources
in the record industry and by an unnamed
person at Google. A YouTube representative told CNET that
"while we don't comment on rumor or
speculation, there are some content creators
that think they would benefit from a
subscription revenue stream in addition to ads,
so we're looking at that." YouTube's streaming service would share at
least one new feature reportedly coming to
Google Play. Users of Google Play can
currently buy, store, and listen to their own
tracks online. But both services will reportedly
offer a subscription plan designed to add more benefits. Record industry executives are still on the
fence over the merits of a free ad-supported
model versus an ad-free subscription, the
sources told Fortune. More customers
gravitate toward the free approach but many
have been quite willing to pay for subscriptions that block out ads and offer
more features. Of course, YouTube would compete against a
host of other streaming-music sites, including
Pandora, Spotify, Rdio, Muve Music, and
Soundcloud. All of those services have a big
head start and a fair number of users. Spotify leads the pack with 5 million paid subscribers around the world and 1 million in the U.S. Muve Music holds 1.4 million customers, followed by Spotify with around 1 million. But YouTube's audience is a lot bigger. More
than 800 million different people visit the site
each month, a lucrative landscape for music
companies.
www.m.cnet.com/news/youtube-to-launch-its-own-music-streaming-service-says-report/57572587
www.tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/03/05/youtube-streaming/?iid=SF_T_Lead&hpt=te_r1