Google ended its Google Play Music in December 2020 to reposition YouTube Music as its main brand for music streaming set to compete with other music streaming services providers and platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
The platform is available in more than 100 countries in North and South America, Europe, Oceanian, and parts of Asia and Africa. It also has more than 80 million paid subscribers and over 2.6 billion active users who are native to the YouTube video-sharing platform.
Pros of YouTube Music: Reasons Why You Should Subscribe
The music streaming market is becoming more fragmented due to the presence of different streaming service providers. There is a gamut of options to choose from. It is also worth mentioning that there are streaming platforms that are less popular but still present a significant threat to mainstream platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.
YouTube Music competes in this seemingly viable market through a unique selling proposition that revolves around music streaming and music videos. The platform banks on the expansive catalogue of music videos available on the YouTube video-sharing platform. This is its main advantage over other music streaming platforms.
Below are the specific selling points of this music streaming service:
• Competitive Music Catalogue: YouTube Music has a decent-sized music catalogue with over 70 million songs from global and local artists. Note that Spotify has around 80 million songs while Apple Music has over 100 million songs.
• Free and Paid Subscription Options: The platform uses a freemium business model similar to Spotify and Amazon Music. Free users are sustained through an ad-based revenue model. Paid subscriptions are ad-free.
• Expansive Music Video Library: Remember that one of the biggest advantages of YouTube Music over other music streaming platforms is its music video library which is incomparable to the libraries of Apple Music and Spotify.
• Scrubbing and Skipping on Free: Another notable version of the free version of this platform is that users can scrub through a track or skip a track. Take note that Spotify has a limited number of skips because playlists are locked on shuffle mode.
• Comes with YouTube Premium: There is a subscription plan for the music streaming platform only. However, subscribers of YouTube Premium, the ad-free and exclusive platform for videos, also have access to YouTube Music.
Cons of YouTube Music: Reasons Why You Not Should Subscribe
The fact remains that Spotify remains the dominant platform for music streaming with over 270 million non-paid users and over 190 million paid subscribers. Apple Music has the third largest market share with 88 million subscribers while. Amazon Music has over 80 million subscribers. China-based Tencent Music Entertainment has over 800 million active users.
YouTube Music struggles to land the second or third spot in the market share ranking despite the established presence of YouTube. Subscribing to this platform is not a good idea for those subscribed to another platform, It is also worth mentioning that Apple Music is building its catalogue of music videos while Spotify has a dedicated catalogue for podcasts.
Below are the issues or limitations of this music streaming service:
• Limitations of the Free Version: The free version of the platform has key limitations. These include the unavailability of background playback in certain devices and regions, absence of offline mode, and 128-kbps audio bitrate quality.
• Uncompetitive Audio Quality: Apple Music dominates the music streaming market in terms of audio quality because it streams lossless audio using the ALAC standard and Dolby Atmos. YouTube Music does not have these features.
• Limited Non-Music Content: Another drawback of this platform is that it does not offer non-music content. Remember that Spotify has podcasts and documentaries. Apple Music streams video content such as online shows and interviews.
• Average-Looking Interface: The user interface and user experience are good. However, when compared with Spotify and Apple Music, the platform has a lot of room for improvement, especially when it comes to content browsing and discovery.
• Poor Curation and Presentation: Music discovery is specifically not as expansive as Spotify and Apple Music. Note that Spotify creates playlists for just about every genre and mood while also allowing users to access user-curated playlists.