The Perfect YouTube Plan for Apple Music Fans Has Arrived
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It’s been nearly a year since YouTube brought its more affordable Premium Lite service to the US, providing a reduced ad experience, and now it’s sweetening the pot by lowering the cost of entry for two other key premium services: background playback and offline downloads.
YouTube Premium Lite initially launched as a way for folks to watch YouTube with fewer ads, but that was about the only thing that differentiated it from watching YouTube for free. It also didn’t eliminate the ads entirely; instead, YouTube said it would make ”most” videos on YouTube ad-free, but there was one important exception: music videos.
Nothing changed for users of YouTube’s Lite plan when it came to music, with videos showing the same ads they would if you weren’t paying at all. Eliminating the ads from those still required you to pony up $13.99 a month for the full YouTube Premium subscription, versus $7.99 for Premium Lite.
However, that wasn’t the only thing that Lite was missing. Downloads and background playback also remained exclusive to YouTube Premium, making the $7.99 monthly plan a bit of a tough sell, sitting awkwardly in between paying nothing and living with the ads or doubling down for the full suite of Premium features.
Google has never shared how much traction it got on YouTube Lite, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the service turned out to be less popular than it had hoped. That’s undoubtedly why it’s decided to up the ante: as of this week, YouTube Lite will include background play and downloads — and at no extra cost.
You asked, and we listened! Today, we’re announcing that Background Play and Downloads are coming to YouTube’s Premium Lite subscription service.
Starting today, and in the coming weeks rolling out everywhere Premium Lite is available, subscribers will be able to watch most videos ad-free, offline and in the background.
Unsurprisingly, those new capabilities come with an important asterisk for folks on the Lite plan. In the same way that music videos will still include ads — that part isn’t changing — they’ll also be ineligible for background playback and offline downloads, as the company notes in its updated comparison chart.
That’s undoubtedly because the licensing deals for music videos still cost YouTube significantly more money than it does to subsidize the ad-free experience for other creators. Music videos were always the biggest upsell for YouTube Premium, and it’s telling that YouTube Music, which is bundled in YouTube Premium, costs $10.99 on its own.
In addition to music videos, YouTube notes that Lite subscribers may also still see ads when searching or browsing the site, as well as when watching Shorts.
Additional features such as jump ahead, queuing, and continue watching also remain exclusive to YouTube Premium, but it’s fair to say those feel more like bonuses for those who opt for the top-tier plan rather than things that would drive upgrades. By contrast, YouTube notes that it had heard from quite a few customers who wanted background playback and downloads included in YouTube Lite.
Today’s update makes the $7.99 plan much more compelling for those who simply want to watch their favorite creators and browse news and general interest content, leaving YouTube Premium as the plan for folks who enjoy music and really don’t want to see ads at all. Best of all, it feels more like a companion to Apple Music or Spotify, allowing users of those services to enjoy everything else YouTube has to offer without being forced to effectively pay for a second streaming music service as part of the package.
