YouTube Music has officially launched in South Africa and I recently attended the local launch in Cape Town to get the low down on what YouTube Music has to offer.
Many of us listen to music on YouTube while we work. While there is loads of music to listen to on YouTube, YouTube lacks some important features that you find on music streaming services. Features such as recommendations, playlists or offline streaming do not exist on YouTube, until now that is.
What is YouTube Music:
YouTube Music is a music streaming service that takes all the music you know from YouTube and presents it in an easy to use website/app. On YouTube music, you can access your favourite music videos, albums, songs, remixes, live performances, covers as well as music that is unique to your area or language. Want music in Zulu? Want music from South Africa? On YouTube music, you can find it all.
On opening YouTube Music, you are presented with a home screen that provides recommendations based on what you listen to. You get suggestions for new music to listen to and also playlists for different activities such as relaxing or working out.
With YouTube Music, you can choose to watch the music video or just hear the audio. This means if you just want the audio, you can save data. You can also download to your phone for offline listening like one can do on Netflix.
Smart Search feature:
With the Smart Search feature, you can find any song, even if you can’t remember what it’s called. You can also search using descriptions, lyrics and even emojis to find that song you know but can’t remember. Smart Search facilitates most languages, including indigenous South African languages such as isiZulu and isiXhosa.
Pricing:
While YouTube music is free, there are some major benefits if you go for YouTube Music Premium @ 59.99 a month or R89.99 per month for the family plan. With the paid offer, you get background listening, downloads and no ads, three things that most will surely need! Paid Play Music subscribers get YT Music Premium for free. While Google Play Music, Googles’ current music platform, will eventually fall away in the near future.
The new YouTube Music app is available to download from the Play Store and App Store. Website users can access the web player at music.youtube.com
