Google waited until late at night on a Wednesday to announce its new music-streaming service YouTube Music. That seems odd in itself, but now that the service is actually live something even weirder is happening: only certain people can sign up.
Considering this new YouTube Music service has been in the works for at least a year, and also considering that YouTube already has a service remarkably similar to YouTube Music (YouTube Red), it’s a real head-scratcher as to why the launch of this brand new product is such a mess.
If you go to the Google Play Store, you can find and install YouTube Music. It appears that everyone can do this. However, once you’ve got the app installed and start it up, some people can actually sign up for the service while others get a notification that “The new YouTube Music is coming soon.” You are then given the option to join a list.
This does not bode well for the launch of YouTube Music, especially considering that the service has already caused confusion for current subscribers of YouTube Red and Google Play Music. Not to mention that there has been a YouTube Music app since 2015, which had a premium tier that bundled YouTube Red and Google Play Music.
Google knows that it needs a streamlined, easy-to-use product to better compete with Spotify, Pandora, and Apple Music. However, it also needs a product that has something unique to offer to differentiate it from the competition. The fact that YouTube has tons of music videos ready to offer seems like a no-brainer, but it also looks like Google doesn’t know how to package that feature.
Regardless, you can join the list to be notified as soon as the new YouTube Music goes live. You’ll then be able to sign up for $9.99 per month or pay $11.99 per month for YouTube Premium, which offers the YouTube Music features as well as giving you a completely ad-free experience across all of YouTube.