YouTube Music, Google’s latest music-streaming push, is now available in the UK – alongside YouTube Premium, formerly called YouTube Red. 

There had been rumours for some time that Google was to launch a music service that married both audio and video, something that was a mash-up of both YouTube and Google Play Music. 

That service finally arrived in the US at the tail-end of May and, just weeks after that launch, it is now available in the UK. 

YouTube Music is available as both an ad-supported free app and as a premium subscription. For £9.99, you get ad-free music, the opportunity to listen to music in the background and use other apps, and download functionality.

YouTube is pushing this as the app where ‘it’s all here’. Meaning that whether you want music videos, albums, remixes, live performances or covers, you will be able to listen and view them through this app. 

YouTube, quite rightly, is also touting context as a key part of this app – functionality that can currently be found in Google Play Music. For instance, it is changing the music it offers on the home screen off the app on an almost minute by minute basis, so that you are served music recommendations that suit the time of day. 

Being Google, search is also a big part of the app, particularly the ability to search lyrics and things like ‘the whistling song’ and it will try and serve you the particular track or video you actually want. 

YouTube Premium

To confuse things a little, YouTube Music is not a direct replacement to Google Play Music. If you currently have a Google Play Music subscription, then you will automatically receive access to YouTube Music Premium.

For now, it seems Google Play Music is in some sort of holding pattern – this means that you’ll still be able to access all of your purchased music, uploads and playlists in Google Play Music, but with this new kid in town you have to question whether both apps will survive in the long run. 

It feels like Google Play Music will one day be usurped but there is no confirmation of this.

And then there’s YouTube Premium. This is the first time the full-fat premium service of YouTube (formerly called YouTube Red) has been made available in the UK. 

YouTube Premium comes in at the slightly costlier £11.99. But, for that, you get YouTube Music Premium as standard plus an ad-free, downloadable, background-playing YouTube experience. 

You also get access to YouTube Originals, of which there are 60 odd. These are shows created by YouTube in retaliation to the onslaught of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video original content. 

The shining light here is Cobra Kai, the Karate Kid spin-off – the show recently found itself the most-watched streaming show across all services and has earned itself a second season. YouTube has revealed that there are a number of UK-focused shows appearing at launch, including Sidemen – billed as The Inbetweeners vs Top Gear – and the football focused F2: Finding Football.

Diversity in distribution

Speaking at the launch of the service, with TechRadar in attendance, Lyor Cohen, Head of Music, YouTube Music said: “35 years ago, I was promoting Run DMC and now I am still promoting music. 

“We are in a period of time where we at Google and YouTube are working in collaboration to bring diversity in distribution – creating products and tools that make those in music’s jobs much easier.”

When talking about how YouTube Music came to be, T Jay Fowler, head of product at Google explained that it all started when Google decided to integrate Google Play Music teams and YouTube teams together.

“14 months ago we merged the YouTube and Google Play Music teams. Google Play Music has made incredible investment in taste profile. We married this with that vast amount of content on YouTube,” said Fowler. 

While this marriage probably needs to become a singular entity at some point, you can download and try out YouTube Music and YouTube Premium on both iOS and Android now. 

http://www.techradar.com/news/youtube-music-and-youtube-premium-now-available-in-the-uk

Since the launch in the US of YouTube Music, the question most people have been asking is: why isn’t this a direct replacement to Google Play Music?

On paper, both apps offer similar functionality. But YouTube Music has the added bonus of being able to tap into the vast archive of YouTube for its music, as well as the videos that go alongside this.

At the UK launch of YouTube Music and YouTube Premium, TechRadar asked T Jay Fowler, head of product at YouTube, exactly that question and it’s something that the company is working very hard to figure out.

It turns out there is a very good reason the apps are currently co-existing: it’s all about making sure that all functionality that Google Play Music users currently enjoy is eventually ported over to YouTube Music – as it stands, this just isn’t the case. 

Bringing YouTube Music and Google Play Music together

“We are working very hard to bring the two experiences together,” said Fowler to TechRadar. “Supporting two apps on the market does come with some challenges and there are some beloved features in Google Play Music that we are in the process of building [into YouTube Music].

“But until we have those features we have a commitment to those users.”

When it comes to the specific features, Fowler pointed out user profiles, bringing over users’ playlists and, most importantly, the locker service. This is the section of Google Play Music where users upload their current music collections to the cloud, ready to stream wherever they want.

“We are working as fast as we can to bring them together,” notes Fowler. 

YouTube Music and YouTube Premium have just launched in the UK and are out now in 17 countries in total, including Australia and the US.

If you are already a subscriber to Google Play Music, then you will automatically get access to YouTube Music. 

http://www.techradar.com/news/why-youtube-music-hasnt-replaced-google-play-music-yet

You pull up to the McDonald’s in your area. You’re hungry and tired after a long day at work, and you order the first burger you see on the menu. 

For most of us, the next step is the most annoying. You reach for your wallet and pull out a credit card. The transaction takes a few minutes, partly because the person processing the order is a little sleepy.

Frustrating, for sure. And seriously outdated in terms of using a credit card. A much better way to order? In the near future, the car itself will help you make the purchase. 

Your Audi A5 or Chevy Malibu will understand your surroundings and know where you are. So if you do use the drive-thru, during check-out the car will transmit the transaction securely, no wallet needed.

That’s the trend that started with a telematics platform called FordPass in 2016, but there are signs it could evolve much further. FordPass is an app and a platform – drivers can use it to search for an opening parking spot, then pay for the transaction. 

However, another trend is trumping the concept of an automaker mobile app.

As voice assistants like Alexa gain popularity, within cars but also in our homes and at work, there’s less of a need to turn your phone into an all-powerful gadget for controlling everything in life. 

In fact, in the near future, having your car work more like a phone makes perfect sense. 

The cellular connections are already available – GM introduced 4G in many models quite a few years ago, and so did Audi. Touchscreen displays already show you what’s on your phone, using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

A future without phones?

The question is why the phone is even necessary when you drive. (Incidentally, this also completely solves the distracted driving problem because drivers don’t need to bring their phones with them at all.) 

The touchscreen in a car would let you pay for the drive-through order, parking spots, plane tickets, and everything in between. 

Using a secure, encrypted connection, the vehicle could tap into the kiosk system available at fast food restaurants, the parking garage, and Expedia to make travel arrangements. Drivers could use the touchscreen or communicate with a voicebot that is built-in (or even customized for the car).

There are no issues with storage – your portable “device” becomes the entire car. Automakers can make sure the connection is secure, highly usable when driving or parked, and there’s an added benefit of partnering with famous brands to make the transaction easier. 

In terms of drawbacks, there are only a few. Once we start using a car like a phone, we won’t need the phone – at least up until we leave the car. 

Yet, if voice assistants and touchscreens become more widely available, the idea of carrying around a phone at all times becomes superfluous. We can talk to bots at home, or use an actual desktop or laptop. 

More likely, the functionality on a car would augment what we do with our phones, or eventually wean us from using them so often, which is the biggest benefit of all.

And, there are some issues related to the interface differences between a Jaguar, a Ford, and an Audi. If you rent a car, you will be presented with a whole new way to order a hamburger. That’s minor, though — most of us stick with the same car for long periods. In the end, the benefits of keeping our eyes on the road outweigh any of the minor irritations. 

On The Road is TechRadar’s regular look at the futuristic tech in today’s hottest cars. John Brandon, a journalist who’s been writing about cars for 12 years, puts a new car and its cutting-edge tech through the paces every week. One goal: To find out which new technologies will lead us to fully driverless cars.

http://www.techradar.com/news/your-car-is-going-to-start-working-like-a-phone-sooner-than-you-think