If the latest reports are to be believed, it appears that Google owned subsidiary, YouTube, is just “weeks away” from rolling out a paid option for music streaming after closing a deal with Merlin, the rights agency that represents thousands of indie music labels.
This will align the video sharing network to directly compete with the likes of Spotify, Deezer and Apple’s recently acquired Beats Music.
The deal means YouTube will have license to stream some 20,000 independent labels including XL Recordings, which represents popular artists like Adele and The xx, but not without cost.
According to the Financial Times, sources close to YouTube have stated that the service will begin offering a monthly paid subscription that will allegedly also allow people to download music for offline listening without adverts.
Republished with permission from Neowin. Read full article.
