YouTube Finally Launches Its Long Anticipated Music App

Last month, we saw YouTube roll out its gaming specific branch which was welcomed with open arms. The video streaming service from Google has today launched its much awaited music app for Android and iOS. The app can be used for free as well as through a subscription called YouTube Red that will cost you $9.99 and will drop in extra features like ad-free viewing and listening, audio-only mode and offline play.

Once into the app, you can use it to browse through more than 30 million licensed tracks on YouTube as well as live versions and fan-created videos related to music and the service will automatically create a playlist for you.

The app was developed by a team led by T. Jay Fowler, YouTube’s director of music product management, who is a former executive at MOG, the music-streaming service acquired by Beats (now part of Apple). The developers believe that YouTube Music is a standalone app and it is not, in any way, a replacement for the Google Play Music.

With YouTube Music, you’ll get a completely new type of experience, designed to make discovering music on YouTube easier than ever,

Fowler wrote in a blog announcing the service.

No matter where you start in the app, the music will never stop.

Google had launched YouTube Music Key last year, which in many ways was, a Music beta subscription. This will now be replaced by YouTube Music. The app is currently only available in the US and is expected to roll out internationally in the coming few days.

The basic version of the app is available as a free download from Google Play or the Apple Store and includes ads. If you want to opt out of ads, you can subscribe to the $10 paid version called YouTube Red. Other features of YouTube Red include its ability to be able to play music in the background and allow you to listen to music offline.

YouTube Red also supports audio mode that will let you play songs in the YouTube Music app without loading the videos. Also, YouTube Red includes full access to the Google Play Music streaming service.

The only drawback of YouTube Music is that users cannot manually create playlists. Fowler says this won’t matter much as the focus is on music discovery and nonstop music.

The app also features home tab recommendations to tracks and personalized stations based on a user’s listening history. You also get official versions of songs high up in searches, flagged with an “official” tag.  It also pulls in remixes, covers, lyric videos and concert footage from YouTube.