Seems like YouTube’s rumored subscription music and video service won’t be launching this year after all, with AllThingsD on Tuesday claiming it’s been delayed because the YouTube folks “are not satisfied with the product itself,” the report said.
Apparently there are ongoing discussions about how to effectively integrate user-generated content like lipsyncs and mashups into the service, and until the issue is sorted out, ‘Music Pass’, as it’s rumored to be called, will stay firmly under wraps.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the report said YouTube was currently hoping for a launch in the first quarter of next year, though depending on how things pan out, that could of course also change.
Reports appearing a couple of months back indicated Music Pass will run along the same lines as Spotify, with free and premium tiers offered to subscribers. The paid version, which is rumored will cost users $10 a month, is likely to come ad-free and allow subscribers offline access to material. The ability to listen to tracks while using other apps on your smartphone is also expected to come as part of the paid option.
Though Google-owned YouTube is yet to offer any official word on Music Pass, a recent teardown of the latest version of its Android app revealed that it is indeed on its way, backing up earlier claims that the company was prepping such a service.
With a massive user base already in place, YouTube’s subscription service could turn out to be a more successful venture than Google’s similar All Access offering, which has failed to take off in a big way. The challenge, of course, will be to get those already using YouTube as their main source of music-related material to hand over money in exchange for a few extra features. That part of the story should be told next year.
[Source: AllThingsD]
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