Updated 14-Sep-2023
Google is a behemoth and has a variety of properties that one may need to use, for example:
- YouTube - to watch YouTube content, and to create and upload YouTube content
- YouTube Music - to listen to YouTube Music
There are subscriptions available for YouTube Premium as well as YouTube Music Premium. As far as I can tell the prices are just a little more for YouTube Premium, but have the huge advantage of removing ads from YouTube as well as YouTube Music, and allowing individual song requests, as well as downloads of YouTube Music and YouTube.
For me personally the removal of YouTube ads is the compelling use case, as I use YouTube Music less often (I've got a large music library and use SomaFM for Internet radio).
Ad Removal in YouTube on Mobile and Desktop
Yes, there are many ways to dispense with ads in YouTube, but generally they require the use of a browser and extensions of some kind. For the desktop, this can be done in Chrome, but for mobile devices one needs to use other browsers, such as Kiwi Browser -- which also has the added advantage of being faster than the Chrome browser.
Disadvantages of this is not being able to use the YouTube app, which many apps launch as a default in any case, and having to use a separate browser means either having two browsers and choosing between them, or losing synchronized bookmarks and saved history across browsers using Kiwi Browser instead of Chrome.
Doing ad removal through YouTube Premium or YouTube Music Premium solves all these problems, and counterbalances that with a monthly or yearly subscription.
Prices depend on which of the services, how many people (individual/family), how long (there is a one-year individual license option), and student status (discount for students, verified yearly). Interestingly, Google is doing location price parity where different locations have different prices. For Thailand, the subscriptions are priced in Thai baht, and must be paid with accounts with Thai addresses (credit card, PayPal). The prices are almost half of the standard US price (which is in turn slightly less than prices in British Pounds and Euros).
Note that YouTube Premium includes YouTube Music Premium, which itself has individual prices (9.99 USD for individual monthly US accounts).
- Individual monthly: 159 THB
- Individual yearly: 1,590 THB
- Family (up to five accounts) monthly: 299 THB
- Student monthly: 95 THB
- Individual monthly: 11.99 USD
- Individual yearly: 119.99 USD
- Family (up to five accounts) monthly: 17.99 USD
- Student monthly: 6.99 USD
YouTube Music for Google Nest and Chromecast Google TV
A compelling use case for YouTube Music is the Google Nest and Chromecast with Google TV. Both can consume Google Music and do so in an increasingly personalized way, provided one allows the learning algorithms to effectively adapt over time.
One concern I have is that the music selection tends toward the mediocre, and I have to keep correcting Google to skip a song or start playing a different one. That said, there have been pleasantly surprising selections. And if one is fond of particular artists then asking for their music can help. Part of the issue is letting go of control over the music (being one's own DJ).
The ability to play music on Nest and have it use Chromecast as a remote speaker is also interesting, though the reverse direction is currently not possible.