According to industry sources who spoke to Re/code, YouTube is aiming to launch its long-awaited subscription service as soon as next month. What’s interesting in this report is that the sources in-the-know stated that the subscription will be sold as a 2-in-1 deal. One monthly fee will purportedly get you access to both music streaming and ad-free videos…
Both the music and ad-free subscriptions have been rumored and confirmed by Google execs in the past, although previously assumed to be two distinct services with separate subscription fees. One would give you unlimited music streaming, while the other would let you watch all the videos you need (or want) to, without ever seeing any advertisements. The cost is rumored to be $10 per month, although it’s hard to see how YouTube would make any money with both music and videos tied to one subscription.
The October release time frame sits nicely with an email recently sent out to existing YouTube creators, asking them to accept new terms by October 22nd.
As you heard in our previous emails, we want to ensure that fans who choose to pay for an ads-free experience can watch all the same videos that are available on the ads-supported experience. That’s why we’re asking you to update your agreement to reflect the updated terms for the ads-free service.
To accept, simply log into YouTube.com as “pakafka” from a desktop or laptop and follow the prompts by October 22nd.
So far, 95% of content creators on YouTube have signed up to and agreed to the deal to allow their videos to be watched by subscribers. That’s up from the 90% who had agreed back in June.
It’ll be interesting to see how viewers respond to the new plans. How many will be willing to pay $10 per month to get music and videos with no ads when they don’t pay a penny now, is yet to be seen. It will, however, allow YouTube to start producing its own home-made shows and movies, competing directly with Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.
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