YouTube Knows Exactly What We Need Right Now: Another Music Streaming Service
Are you tired of having to argue with your friends about whether Google Play is superior to Apple Music? Have you found yourself listening to your favorite classic Broadway soundtrack on Spotify and thought, “This would sound a lot better on a different streaming service?” Well, YouTube has got what you need! We could be getting a new streaming service as early as March 2018. Remix is what the tech streets are calling it. Fresh.
You’re probably wondering why YouTube is making another music streaming service after YouTube Red launched a couple years ago, but don’t worry they’re completely different. While Red just gets rid of ads and lets you watch your favorite videos offline while also offering original content, Remix will have all those same features, though multiple sources say it will “focus on music.” It will also give access to Google Play features. According to Bloomberg, Warner Music Group has already signed on, and Alphabet Inc., YouTube’s parent company, is still courting Sony and Universal for the service as well. This conversation will probably be addressed in the re-negotiation of Vevo’s contract next year, who has threatened to move their content to Facebook in the past.
This will be Alphabet and Google’s third attempt at a YouTube-stationed streaming service. We know YouTube Red is still around, but do you remember YouTube Music Key? I don’t either. The purpose of this streaming service was apparently to cater to more independent artists that weren’t putting their content on other streaming services, such as SoundCloud or Bandcamp. This is all in effort to generate more money from the video sharing site, which has had to compete with Spotify and Apple Music mainly, but also with popular services such as Amazon Unlimited and TIDAL. You had playback in the background, offline listening and indie music exclusive to YouTube. Even though that sounsd like everything we’ve ever wanted (sarcasm!), the page currently holds no content.
Seeing as though Remix, Google Play and Music Key are all essentially the same thing, save for the original content on Remix and Key, I don’t see the point in asking people to pay for another streaming service. And while we’re on the subject of streaming services, my sentiments on the matter are very similar to those expressed here, which was posted to this site in response to same tomfoolery going on in video streaming services. It’s as if having a streaming service of any kind is the new Supreme accessory. It’s basic as fuck and we need to go back to downloading music straight onto an .mp3 player of our choice and call it a day. I still have an iPod, and I don’t come out of 10 smackeroons every month to listen to my music, as God intended. But maybe Google knows something I don’t, so stay tuned.
What are your thoughts on the current state of music-streaming? What service is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!
