YouTube Red is now available in Australia, with the paid membership service having launched today.Google has advised of YouTube Red’s arrival via a blog post, with the service having originally launched in the US last year, with the YouTube Music app also being launched in Australia.
After June 6, the standard price for YouTube Red, which offers ad-free and offline video, premium music and original shows, will be $11.99 a month, while for users who sign up before this date a special offer of $9.99 per month is available.
New users of YouTube Red in Australia are also being offered a free 30-day trial
“A YouTube Red membership lets you enjoy ad-free videos across all of YouTube and a premium music experience with the world’s largest catalogue,” Google states of the service. “You can save videos to watch offline and play videos in the background on your phone or tablet.”
The membership works anywhere a user signs into YouTube, including the YouTube Music app and the recently launched Gaming app.
YouTube Red also comes with premium access to Google Play Music, with users subscribing to one to automatically get access to the other for free.
Google states that existing Play Music subscribers will get the new low price, and will not need to sign up again to benefit from YouTube Red.
Meanwhile, Google states that the YouTube Music app provides “access to one of the richest music catalogues on Earth and makes discovering new music easier than ever”.
YouTube Music app users will see a personal station with recommendations based on their tastes, along with trending lists with the most popular music on YouTube each day.
YouTube Red members will have the ability to listen to music seamlessly without ads, play videos offline and to switch between video or audio-only, with background playing providing for videos to continue to be played, even when the user is in another app or has their screen turned off. The app will also automatically create an offline mixtape.
“And don’t worry – the free, ad-supported version of YouTube we all know and love isn’t going anywhere,” Google states. “You’ll still be able to enjoy YouTube, along with the YouTube Kids, YouTube Gaming and YouTube Music apps, free of charge.”
