Like every online streaming platform, YouTube also has its own version of paid subscription plan called YouTube Premium. The Premium subscription brings together several benefits over the free account. For instance, the subscription allows users to watch ad-free content on YouTube, the ability to save videos offline and more.
If you are wondering about the benefits that the YouTube Premium subscription offers and the pricing. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
YouTube Premium: Pricing and plans
YouTube is offering its Premium membership in multiple plans. The subscription usually costs Rs 139 per month without auto-renewal. However, if you choose to go with the auto-renewal option, the monthly subscription will cost Rs 129.
YouTube also has 3-month and yearly subscription plans. The 3-month plan costs Rs 399 and the yearly subscription plan is priced at Rs 1,290. It is important to note that both of these plans do not auto-renew. So, once it is over, users will need to buy them again.
Apart from all the above-mentioned plans, there’s one more plan, especially for students. This costs Rs 79 per month. A student, however, will be required to provide proper proof of being a student.
YouTube Premium: Benefits
YouTube Premium comes with several benefits and one of the most highlighted features is ad-free viewing. This means YouTube will not show any ads while watching. The Premium membership also allows users to download the videos for offline viewing and supports background and Picture-in-Picture playback.
YouTube Premium also includes a YouTube Music Premium subscription. So, a YouTube Premium member will have access to the YouTube Music app as well.
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YouTube Music to go audio-only for non-premium users: All you need to know
YouTube Music is soon going audio-only for free users and will no longer play music videos alongside the audio. The platform recently announced via a detailed post that videos on YouTube Music will soon become exclusive to YouTube Premium or YouTube Music Premium subscribers.
Free users who aren’t subscribed to either of these plans will also miss out on features like on-demand music selection and unlimited skips.
YouTube Music will, however, continue to allow free users to access dedicated mood mixes on the platform. These include mixes for workout and commute with advertisements. The post, first spotted by 9to5Google also states that if free listeners have uploaded songs on the YouTube Music app, they can continue to play them anytime, on-demand.
Here’s a detailed list of features free and paid users will be able to experience.
Free users:
Listen to music in the background
Shuffle play personalized mixes (that are made just for you!)
Find the perfect mood mixes for activities like workout, commute and more
Explore millions of songs & thousands of playlists, free of cost
Premium subscription users:
Listen to songs on-demand
Watch videos on YouTube Music
Skip tracks an unlimited number of times
Enjoy YouTube Music without ads
The new changes are set to roll out first in Canada on November 3 this year. Following this, we can expect the changes to come to other regions including India. It remains to be seen what YouTube and YouTube Music’s long term plans are for other regions. More details on the same should be revealed by the company soon.
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Best Music Streaming Services – Consumer Reports
Price: SiriusXM is best known for its satellite radio service for cars, but it also has cheaper packages that let users listen through an app or a web browser.
The packages SiriusXM offers change so frequently that it isn’t worth keeping track of the specifics. For around $11 per month you can get a subscription that will let you listen on your phone, with access to hundreds of channels, including music, comedy, sports, talk radio, on-demand shows, and ad-free music with skippable tracks. Sometimes that price gets you access to the Howard Stern channels (his new content is a SiriusXM exclusive), but sometimes you need to pay more for that.
There’s also an extra charge if you want to stream directly to a car radio (though you could just get the app and use Bluetooth if you have good cell service). Last we checked, that cost a total of $18 per month.
There are free trials, discounted rates for the first year, and family plans. If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t mind bargaining, haggling with a customer service rep may be the way to get the best price—just make sure you don’t get roped in to a plan with hidden fees and shifting costs.
Who it’s best for: People who like terrestrial radio stations but want more options and a commercial-free experience with the option of skipping tracks. SiriusXM is also the only game in town for Howard Stern fans.
Pros: SiriusXM has a wide variety of offerings that will probably be a significant upgrade over your local radio stations. And if you have good cell service on your commute, plus an unlimited data plan, you could stream to your car stereo from your phone. You’ll get cheaper access to the same content offered in the company’s satellite radio packages.
As described above, SirusXM purchased Pandora, and the two services now share some features and content free of charge. See their help page for details.
Cons: You’ll probably have to call customer service to end your subscription, which was a convoluted, time-consuming process when we tried it. Choosing a package is also surprisingly complicated. When you factor in the satellite radio tiers, new users need to pick from numerous subscription choices with a confusing variety of offerings, optional add-ons, and hidden fees. The packages change constantly and details are hard to find, so you’ll never know for sure if you’re getting the best deal. The SiriusXM app and web interface can also be more difficult to navigate than those of most competitors.
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