YouTube Could Roll Out Paid Subscription Service Soon

YouTube has long been a free, ad-supported platform where users can watch videos or listen to music. However, the Google Inc GOOG GOOGL business is planning to take a step into the paid subscription service arena with two new offerings set to debut later this year.

Music

There has been a lot of chatter about YouTube's plans to create a subscription-based music streaming platform. The site remains the most popular way for people to listen to music online, and artists and Google execs alike are hoping to capitalize on that popularity.

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Right now, the service is supported by ads, but YouTube is planing to unveil a new, ad-free music streaming service in order to entice some of its users to switch over to a paid model. It remains unknown how Google will divide its free and paid services and whether or not certain content will only be available for paid users. At the moment, the site is working together with labels in order to determine how to best structure the new offering.

Videos

Rumor has it that YouTube is planning to roll out a paid video streaming platform before the end of the year as well. While details about the service are unclear, most expect that in addition to removing ads, the paid version will feature content from the site's most popular creators and allow users to save videos for offline viewing.

Challenges

While subscription services may seem beneficial to YouTube's bottom line on paper, many have expressed doubt about whether or not the company can pull off the change-up.

For one, YouTube has been around for so long as a free service, users may be reluctant to pay— especially for certain videos. Additionally, a huge proportion of the site's viewers are young and wouldn't have access to a credit card to pay for premium content. However, others believe that if executed correctly, a subscription service could help YouTube become a major moneymaker for Google.

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