YouTube confirms ad-free, subscription service
YouTube has today announcedplans for an ad-free, subscription-based service.
In an email sent out to YouTube Partners, the streaming giant details a paid-for, advertisement-free version of YouTube for a monthly fee. The price has not been revealed,nor have details on whether it will be offered to the public, howeverBloombergclaims it will cost users $US10 a month and be stripped of both image/text ads and pre-roll video ads.
YouTube has mentioned the changes will go into effect on June 15, 2015 and that YouTube Partners can agree to updated terms on YouTube’s Creator Studio Dashboard.
The updated terms will see YouTube pay creators 55% of the total net revenues from subscription fees. YouTube explains: “YouTube will pay you 55% of the total net revenues recognized by YouTube from subscription fees that are attributable to the monthly views or watchtime of your Content as a percentage of the monthly views or watchtime of all or a subset of participating content in the relevant subscription offering.”
Should creators refuse the terms, all of their videos will be set to private.
The subscription service is the second from Google-owned YouTube; in February, YouTube’s head of content and business operations Robert Kyncl touched on the launch of Music Key, a subscription platform offering consumers access to Google Play’s library, as well as ads-free music videos. The letter sent to Partners today said: “Since inviting hundreds of thousands of fans into our YouTube Music Key Beta, we've seen tremendous engagement.”
The announcement of this particular type of subscription model was first discussed by YouTube CEO Susan Wojcickiat the Code Mobile conference in the US last October. Wojcicki said the subscription model would exist alongside the free ad-supported tier.
The new model could create competition forJanuary-launchedvideo-streamingstartup Vessel. Vessel inked a partnership with Universal Music Group in February to give customers subscribed to its paid tier exclusive, early access to some videos from the label’srostered acts.
Read the full email from YouTube to Partners below:
