YOUTUBE RED LAUNCHES IN AUSTRALIA

YouTube Red is a premium, paid service offered by YouTube. Launched in the US in November 2015, the video streaming service has now been made available for Australian users. In conjunction with this launch, YouTube Music has also been made available, offering a dedicated app for discovering, watching, and listening to music.

So what does YouTube Red offer that isn’t already available with YouTube’s free service? YouTube Red is completely ad-free, makes content available for offline streaming, allows background play even when your phone is locked, as well as giving access to original content by YouTube based creators.

While ads can be removed from YouTube using ad blocking services, this limits the income of content creators. YouTube Red’s ad-free service is a way to potentially remedy this problem, with a portion of each subscription going to creators.

While some are touting YouTube Red as a threat to established streaming services such as Netflix, the limited amount of original programming on offer at this early stage makes this seem unlikely. There are only 10 original programs available at launch, from popular YouTubers such as PewDiePie and Lilly Singh. YouTube promises more programming will be added over the coming years, and are “looking into” partnering with local content creators.

Perhaps the biggest advantage of YouTube Red compared to other streaming services is offline play, which is currently only offered by Amazon Prime, not yet available in Australia. However, YouTube denies intending their service to be a competitor in the streaming market, stating they’re focusing on providing a service that’s “uniquely YouTube.”

While YouTube Red may not be intended as competition in the streaming market, the YouTube Music app is another matter. While YouTube Music is ostensibly a free service, having a YouTube Red membership adds functionality, with an ad-free experience as well as the ability to play videos offline.

Much like other music streaming services, YouTube Music has trending lists, offline mixtapes, playlist and personal station capabilities, as well as genre-based stations. Where it differs from services like Spotify and Apple Music is the varied content available for streaming, from lyric videos, covers, live shows and remixes.

Further, a YouTube Red subscription also includes free premium access to Google Play Music, which is usually $9.99 a month; and the two music streaming services have been described by YouTube as ‘complementary’.

A YouTube Red subscription will cost $11.99 per month for Android users and $12.99 for iOS users, with a free 30 day trial and an introductory offer of $9.99 available until the 6th of June. For YouTube users who don’t want to sign up for YouTube Red, the site and app will remain the same, with free access, ads and no additional features.