YouTube has announced the launch of YouTube Music in South Africa.
YouTube Music is a new music streaming service that offers music videos, official albums, singles, remixes, live performances, covers and hard-to-find music that can only be found on YouTube.
The new ad-supported version of YouTube Music is free, while YouTube Music Premium, a paid membership that gives users background listening, downloads and an ad-free experience, costs R59.99 a month or R89.99 per month for a Family Plan. Users can get three months of YouTube Music Premium free here.
YouTube Music offers a number of features music lovers will really enjoy, says Google SA Head of Marketing Asha Patel: “A home screen that dynamically adapts to provide recommendations based on what you’ve played before, where you are and what you’re doing. Thousands of playlists across any genre, mood or activity. The hottest new music. And, no internet? No problem. Get YouTube Music Premium to listen ad-free, in the background and on-the-go with downloads. Plus, your Offline Mixtape automatically downloads songs you love just in case you forgot to.
“With the Smart Search feature on YouTube Music, music lovers can find any song, even if they can’t remember what it’s called.”
Users can search for descriptions, lyrics and even emojis to find the tracks they want to listen to. Smart Search is available in most languages, including indigenous South African languages like isiZulu and isiXhosa.
“Google Play Music subscribers will automatically receive access to YouTube Music Premium at their current price,” says Patel. “Nothing is changing with Google Play Music – you’ll still be able to access all of your purchased music, uploads and playlists in Google Play Music.”
The new YouTube Music app is available to download from the Play Store and App Store or users can check out the web player at music.youtube.com and sign up for YouTube Premium at youtube.com/premium.