YouTube Introduces Music Key Subscription Service

YouTube‘s long-rumored streaming music service is now a reality thanks to today’s introduction of the platform’s latest service: Music Key. In the works for more than a year, Music Key is a new monthly subscription service that utilizes Google Play Music to offer users more than 30 million songs, expertly-curated playlists and, soon, the ability to watch official music videos right from the YouTube app on your smartphone or tablet. Starting at an introductory price of $7.99 USD per month (discounted from $9.99 USD/month), the service will be completely ad-free and also support the likes of background play and offline viewing. YouTube’s website and mobile apps have also been given an overhaul to coincide with the unveiling and now includes a new home just for music.

Currently in the beta stage, Music Key will soon be available to the masses — you can submit your email address here to stay up-to-date with the service’s launch developments — while invites to the beta itself have been extended to YouTube’s “biggest music fans” via their app or email, thus allowing select users to utilize the service for free over the next six months.