Google seems to be taking the fight to Spotify with plans to merge YouTube Red and Play Music. These plans have been divulged by the company back in July but we haven’t heard much about it. Now, it seems the new service, which has been internally called “Remix,” might be coming as early as March 2018. The service is described as “Spotify-like on-demand streaming and would incorporate elements from YouTube, such as video clips.” It makes sense for us to have these two services merged as a Play Music subscription already gives you access to ad-free YouTube content and Red originals, might as well put them in one less confusing service.
According to Bloomberg’s report, there is a possibility of Play Music taking a backseat to YouTube here, which will follow internal structuring where much of the Play Music team has been moved to work on YouTube-related projects. If it does launch by March, Google would need to get the music industry bigwigs to be on board. It has been reported that the record industry heads aren’t happy with the minimal revenue being generated by YouTube music videos. This move might appease them. Warner Music Group is reportedly on board already but Google is still negotiating with the likes of Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and independent labels.
Source: Android Authority