I’m sure we’ve all been there. Watching YouTube videos, casually cursing under your breath for every single ad that comes along. And then, oh god…then… the bloody 30-second ad you can’t skip. While these have apparently been removed by YouTube, ads are just generally a pain in the arse. Like, when was the last time you recorded something on Sky+, forgot you had recorded it and then gleefully fast-forwarded all of those bloody ads with Maroon 5 singing ‘Every little thing, is gonna be alright’. Cringe.
Anyway, if you’re an avid fan of YouTube you’ll be glad to hear that the Google-owned company has just launched YouTube Premium in Ireland. If you’re a Spotify fan, you might also be interested to hear YouTube Music is also now available too.
What is YouTube Premium?
There are a few pet hates I have for YouTube:
- Ads. Countless ads.
- Music stopping when I close the app
- The hardship of trying to download videos
YouTube Premium solves all of these problems.
Blocking YouTube Ads with Premium
Let’s kick off with ads. Right now, companies pay for spots before the video you want to watch in order to show you a message. More or less the same way TV advertising works. The difference is that YouTube doesn’t really care where that money comes from, whether it’s you watching ads or paying not to see them. YouTube Premium is the latter option, where for a monthly fee, you’ll no longer see ads on YouTube.
Play YouTube Videos in the Background
I came up with an untidy solution to this problem not so long ago, mainly because I was on a buzz of listening to a YouTuber called the Creepy Fox while I slept; I’m weird. Anyway, if you’re willing to fork out for YouTube Premium every month you can now start playing something in YouTube and then close off your screen. You’d swear these were big things I wanted solved, but that’s worth the admission fee on its own.
Downloading YouTube Videos
Thanks to EU roaming, there’s probably not much call for downloading YouTube content any more, unless you’re editing video or something. I have yet to try this out, but I doubt that you actually get access to the raw video file like you would downloading through Keepvid or something similar (which has been shut down – try this instead)
How Much Does YouTube Premium Cost?
This is the big bit. Personally, I actually don’t use YouTube quite a lot. My other half does though so I thought I would survey her on this and see what she thought:
And I think that sums the service up nicely. Will people pay €11.99 for YouTube Premium to block ads alone? Maybe, but that alone isn’t really enough. I didn’t tell my better half that there’s more to this story.
Google Also Launches YouTube Music in Ireland
When you sign up to YouTube Premium, you get everything that I’ve pointed out so far, along with access to YouTube Music.
What is YouTube Music?
Just like all the other music streaming services out there, YouTube Music brings a massive catalogue of music into the palm of your hand. The app looks very like Spotify which suggests that’s who YouTube view as their primary target.
In terms of catalogue size, you’ll be hard-pressed not to find your favourite tunes on YouTube music along with all the options of covers and funny parodies too. Let’s not forget, there are countless awesome playlists for various moods and mindsets too, which you’ll not be able to tap into as well.
If you’ve been won over by YouTube Premium and YouTube Music, you’ll be able to enjoy the latter without ads, in the background with your screen off and even be able to download tunes if you’re heading into a coverage blackspot.
How Much is YouTube Music?
There will be a free version of YouTube Music but that’ll have ads. To go ad-free, YouTube Music will set you back €9.99 a month – you’ll note the same as Spotify Premium. Could this be an actual contender to knock Spotify off top spot?
But don’t forget, for just €11.99 a month, you’ll get all of YouTube Music Premium included with YouTube Premium too! While I haven’t heard anything yet, I’d imagine a YouTube Premium Family package is on the way too and that’ll probably be around €14.99 per month.
Most importantly, you can try out this new Premium ad-free life for free for three months. Just sign up for your YouTube Premium and see what the high-life feels like.
