6 ms·

This service seems squarely aimed at mobile users- blocking ads and allowing YouTube to play in the background are two functionalities that are already enabled

This service seems squarely aimed at mobile users- blocking ads and allowing YouTube to play in the background are two functionalities that are already enabled on desktop (with the addition of a browser-based adblocker). I'll be honest, it took me a minute or two to wrap my head around paying money to block ads on YouTube since I already do that with a browser extension. Is YouTube really that popular on mobile? With Netflix and Spotify already having mobile apps I don't see many people paying $10 a month for the ability to skip ads and play YouTube music in the background. And as for "exclusive YouTube content" it makes zero sense to have the same monthly fee as Netflix and somehow think that PewDiePie is going to compete with Orange is the New Black or House of Cards.

fixermark 11y ago
You may underestimate the vast long-tail appeal of PewDiePie. ;)
dangoor 11y ago
I'm guessing that YouTube is quite popular on mobile devices. Beyond that, though, I think the fact that this service is bundled with Google Play Music is a big deal. There's a market already for $10/month music services... now, your $10/month gets you the music service and ad-free YouTube. I don't know how Google Play Music stacks up against the others, but it's something I would consider.
- msabalau 11y ago
  Exactly this--the value isn't just Youtube--it's Youtube plus streaming music. If you are paying for a streaming service, switching gives you ad free YouTube "for free". Also, being able to take videos "off line" seems like it could be pretty useful for some people.
- sliverstorm 11y ago
  GPM is fairly competitive on its own, and now you get even more for your money. I have been a subscriber from the start.
- schnevets 11y ago
  I didn't see myself jumping from Spotify/Netflix to this bundle because Spotify has a lot more niche content than the other services, but Google could gain a huge market if they collect the music library for the younger, YouTube-obsessed demographic who would care about PewDiePie's exclusive content.
krstck 11y ago
> And as for "exclusive YouTube content" it makes zero sense to have the same monthly fee as Netflix and somehow think that PewDiePie is going to compete with Orange is the New Black or House of Cards. The (mostly teenage) audience for Youtube celebrities is massive, and is probably mostly invisible to you if you don't know any kids. I don't know whether they'd be willing to pay for a subscription service, but regardless of whether you think Netflix is higher quality than Youtube, there are many millions of people who get their entertainment mostly just from Youtube.
- JoeAltmaier 11y ago
  ...and I weep for a generation raised on LolCatz and FailzTeenThrob
  - Someone1234 11y ago
    And your parents weeped for a generation raised by MTV. It is very easy to mis-characterise and or dismiss the younger generation's content, it is also ironic as your parents and their parents did exactly the same thing.
    - raldi 11y ago
      This "Rock-n-Roll" is just noise. And the Beatles need to cut their hair.
      - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
        I'd laugh if I wasn't crying. Let me try it in essay form. The quality of the medium has gone up in 200 years; the quality of the message, down. This is documented. Read old literature, if you can. Its hard for us, with our 9 second attention spans, to follow the thread in old books with their page-long paragraphs. Not because they wrote badly; because we're no longer trained to understand complex ideas. Instead 4-minute songs with one lyric, distilled one-note thought pieces with sophomoric moralizing, videos pandering to the lowest emotion. Folks reading this will dismiss it as maudlin ranting, misplaced nostalgia. The trend has exceeded a single lifetime. Generations decry the drop in standards, because the standards drop. They had a long way to go, and we near the bottom. Its not about hair and noise. Its about the message. Which there's no longer any room for.
abalos 11y ago
This also allows you to have access to Google Play Music which is currently $9.99 / mo. This rocks.

fixermark 11y ago

You may underestimate the vast long-tail appeal of PewDiePie. ;)

dangoor 11y ago

I'm guessing that YouTube is quite popular on mobile devices. Beyond that, though, I think the fact that this service is bundled with Google Play Music is a big deal. There's a market already for $10/month music services... now, your $10/month gets you the music service and ad-free YouTube. I don't know how Google Play Music stacks up against the others, but it's something I would consider.

msabalau 11y ago
Exactly this--the value isn't just Youtube--it's Youtube plus streaming music. If you are paying for a streaming service, switching gives you ad free YouTube "for free". Also, being able to take videos "off line" seems like it could be pretty useful for some people.
sliverstorm 11y ago
GPM is fairly competitive on its own, and now you get even more for your money. I have been a subscriber from the start.
schnevets 11y ago
I didn't see myself jumping from Spotify/Netflix to this bundle because Spotify has a lot more niche content than the other services, but Google could gain a huge market if they collect the music library for the younger, YouTube-obsessed demographic who would care about PewDiePie's exclusive content.

krstck 11y ago

> And as for "exclusive YouTube content" it makes zero sense to have the same monthly fee as Netflix and somehow think that PewDiePie is going to compete with Orange is the New Black or House of Cards. The (mostly teenage) audience for Youtube celebrities is massive, and is probably mostly invisible to you if you don't know any kids. I don't know whether they'd be willing to pay for a subscription service, but regardless of whether you think Netflix is higher quality than Youtube, there are many millions of people who get their entertainment mostly just from Youtube.

JoeAltmaier 11y ago
...and I weep for a generation raised on LolCatz and FailzTeenThrob
- Someone1234 11y ago
  And your parents weeped for a generation raised by MTV. It is very easy to mis-characterise and or dismiss the younger generation's content, it is also ironic as your parents and their parents did exactly the same thing.
  - raldi 11y ago
    This "Rock-n-Roll" is just noise. And the Beatles need to cut their hair.
    - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
      I'd laugh if I wasn't crying. Let me try it in essay form. The quality of the medium has gone up in 200 years; the quality of the message, down. This is documented. Read old literature, if you can. Its hard for us, with our 9 second attention spans, to follow the thread in old books with their page-long paragraphs. Not because they wrote badly; because we're no longer trained to understand complex ideas. Instead 4-minute songs with one lyric, distilled one-note thought pieces with sophomoric moralizing, videos pandering to the lowest emotion. Folks reading this will dismiss it as maudlin ranting, misplaced nostalgia. The trend has exceeded a single lifetime. Generations decry the drop in standards, because the standards drop. They had a long way to go, and we near the bottom. Its not about hair and noise. Its about the message. Which there's no longer any room for.

abalos 11y ago

This also allows you to have access to Google Play Music which is currently $9.99 / mo. This rocks.