YouTube is reportedly prepping up on launching a paid subscription service for users who would like to enjoy ad-free videos anytime and anywhere.
Acquired by Google in 2006, the video-sharing website has expanded its viewership. It now has more than 1 billion unique users each month with 6 billion hours of video watched monthly. The United States drives 30 percent of the traffic in the website while the 70 percent remaining is in 55 other countries.
With billions of users and continuously growing number of users, it is not surprising that YouTube would think of turning these numbers into real profit. Its free service has even surpassed radio as more teens and young adults turn to the site to listen to their favorite music.
The paid subscription service will allow users to enjoy the videos without interruption of the ads before and during playback. They can also store the videos and playlists directly on their devices including smartphones and tablets. Almost 40 percent of the site traffic comes from mobile devices.
"Mobile is becoming absolutely enormous for YouTube," said Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey to LA Times. "The fact is that music has always been a medium that most people are going to want to carry with them and have available at all times. When … you add the visual component of the music video, you're simply sweetening a pot."
The paid subscription service is set to launch by December. Users can start storing or "caching" videos while connected to Internet then play it afterwards even without Internet connection. This service is great for users who don't have stable Internet connection or dependent on free Wi-Fi networks.
Meanwhile, record executives are hoping that the new service improves YouTube's listening experience. Most of the users have complained about challenges in searching for official videos of the music they want to listen to unlike its competitor Spotify. A label source told the Rolling Stone, "It takes a lot of effort by the user to organize the [YouTube] experience."
