YouTube Music now official, coming next week

Although the YouTube Music app has been around for a while, Google has decided to reshape it as "a new music streaming service made for music on top of the magic of YouTube: making the world of music easier to explore and more personalized than ever." This service will get a (very) limited rollout next week, but more markets will be added in the coming months.

According to Google's Official YouTube Blog, this new music streaming service will come with a new desktop player and a mobile app "that are designed for music" and promises to offer millions of songs and albums, thousands of playlists, artist radio stations, and more. Its highlights also include a personalized home screen that adapts depending on the user's listening history and location, for example relaxing music while waiting to catch a flight or upbeat tracks when entering the gym.

YouTube Music comes as a free ad-supported service, but those who want an ad-free experience, background listening, and downloads must pay a monthly subscription fee of US$9.99 for YouTube Music Premium. The existing YouTube Red and Google Play Music subscribers will get the features they currently enjoy for the same price they pay right now. Yesterday, Google Play Music revealed the following in a Twitter message: "If you're already a Google play music subscriber, you'll get YouTube Red (soon to be YouTube Premium) along with YouTube Music Premium."

Early access to the new YouTube Music service will roll out starting Tuesday in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South Korea. The second wave will include the United Kingdom, Canada, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. If you are not living in one of these countries, you can subscribe here to be notified when YouTube Music comes to your area.