YouTube Music is now available in the UK...

Last month, YouTube announced a new, Spotify-rivalling music streaming service that looks set to replace Google Play Music. And now it has launched in the UK, as well as sixteen other countries including US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Sweden.

YouTube Music has a free, ad-supported tier, as well as a £9.99/month YouTube Music Premium membership offering background listening, downloads and, naturally, an ad-free experience. Google is offering a free three-month trial for new users too, so if you sign up today you won’t have to part with any pennies until September.

Now the service is up and running, we can see there’s also a £14.99/month Family plan, allowing access for up to six people (age 13 and over) in the same household. A free one-month trial is available for this tier, too.

So how good is it? So far we’ve only had a quick navigate of the service. The interface looks… familiar, if a little bare. Beneath the ‘home’ header is music grouped by, say, genre, mood, new releases and ‘today’s hits’. Under the ‘hotlist’ header is video-supported recommendations, and then there’s ‘library’ (your playlists and ‘liked’ songs, for example) and a search bar.

We’ll be reviewing the service in full very soon, so - you know the drill - watch this space.

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Becky Roberts

Becky is the managing editor of What Hi-Fi? and, since her recent move to Melbourne, also the editor of Australian Hi-Fi magazine. During her 10+ years in the hi-fi industry, she has reviewed all manner of audio gear, from budget amplifiers to high-end speakers, and particularly specialises in headphones and head-fi devices. In her spare time, Becky can often be found running, watching Liverpool FC and horror movies, and hunting for gluten-free cake.