YouTube wants to join in on the new trend for media content website offering a paid way to get out of all the ads. The idea is the same as any other service (TV, radio, online, etc); build up an extensive distribution of advertisements and then offer a way to get out of it all by paying for it. Of course, that’s how Cable TV started and you can see how well that worked out years later–now it’s the same as OTA (over the air) TV, only now you get bombarded with the ads AND you pay for it (willingly).
More than likely, you probably won’t face troubles in the future with ads in YouTube’s case. You just have to be willing to pay $10/month. The majority of YouTube viewers won’t even bother with it since it doesn’t pertain to them. Instead, it will target the smaller crowds that live on YouTube watching all of their favorite non-mainstream shows–or their favorite gamers (because watching other people play games is much more entertaining than playing the games yourself right?…I might be biased here). It will also target those who love to rip things from YouTube as it will allow them to do it legitimately vs breaking copyright and other rules that generally frown on that.
The new subscription service, known as “YouTube Red”, is focused on 3 main points: ad-free, download for later and background streaming on mobile devices.
So you will be able to download videos to watch later without anyone asking you “isn’t someone going to get mad at you for that?”. Assuming people actually pay attention anymore to copyright laws (rap artists sure don’t). This function will come with limitations though as it will only work within the YouTube app and the downloaded content will only be made available for up to 30 days. The words “up to” could mean that content authors will have a say in it as YouTube does state that some content may no longer be available offline once you connect online again (which can be controlled by the owners of such videos). So there will be a lot of small print, and you can expect to see more as they tweak things down the line.
The background play enables you to use YouTube as another Pandora or bounce in between other apps within the video stopping play. The latter of which is good if the video involves a walkthrough on how to accomplish something on your mobile device and you want a little hands on as the video is playing.
Does it sound worth it? Most might say no, but there is more to it. Google is smart as the whole point is to increase the popularity of the video streaming network. They do so by making sure this new subscription is similar to how Amazon offers such a great deal with Amazon Prime. The new Red service will be a marriage between YouTube and Google Play Music. Both have access to the other, which means if you are already a Google Play Music subscriber, then you get Red for free. The same goes the other direction if you subscribe to red, you get Google Play Music. Ok, now it’s starting to sound smart. This increases both networks for Google and helps put a choke hold on the competition that can’t offer these kind of bonuses (like Pandora).
Is Red something that you would subscribe to? Are you already a Google Play Music subscriber, and if so, does this sound appealing to you? Share below in the comments!
https://youtu.be/YL9RetC0ook
