Over the years, the true benefits of paying for music streaming services appear to have been outweighed by the consistent price increases.
As Freemium users continue to benefit from the ability to shuffle their way through life and contend with a few ads, Premium subscribers have seen hike after hike with benefits not keeping pace – unless you’re into Joe Rogan podcasts and audiobooks. Spotify did add lossless streaming for Premium subscribers late last year, to be fair, but that arrived after a wait of about three years following the announcement. The price seemingly went up about 14 times in that period so don’t talk to me about getting it at no extra cost.
So that’s why the reports YouTube Music is putting lyrics behind the Premium paywall is actually heartening to me. Sure, it’s a small thing, but anything that makes the people actually and overtly financially contributing to the artists they’re listening to, is good by me.
Anything that would convince those freeloading to actually consider upgrading to a way of listening that values music as an undertaking worthy of being paid for, is ok with me. If I could choose, there’d be no freemium Spotify or YouTube at all, it’d be the Apple Music model whereby, if you want to stream music, you pay for it.
9to5Google reports that, after months in testing, YouTube Music is now requiring users to subscribe to Premium if they want to see more than five sets of song lyrics before they subscribe. Users might see the messages: “You have [x] views remaining” and “Unlock lyrics with Premium.” Those who don’t subscribe might see the first couple of stanzas and then they’re blurred out.
In other news YouTube is now offering an AI playlist generator for Premium subscribers.
Here’s how to use it: 1. On Android & iOS, tap the “New” button in the Library tab of YouTube Music
- Select “AI Playlist”
- Use your voice or text to explain the type of music you’d like in your playlist
I won’t be using it because the inauthenticity of AI grosses me out and will even if I’m the last hold out on this doomed space rock. However, I am pleased it’s being offered only to Premium subscribers.
