YouTube is to introduce a paid music service that will compete with Spotify, Pandora and iTunes Radio, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
The report said that the subscription service would debut before the end of the year at a price of around $10 a month. The service would be tailored to mobile devices and offer users access to the site’s trove of music videos without interruptions from advertising.
The new service comes with YouTube under pressure to bolster revenues as users shift to accessing the site via mobile networks, which produce lower advertising rates than broadband access.
The paid service may benefit music companies, which could reap higher royalties than the relatively low rates paid by YouTube currently. Music companies would also be allowed to organise music into albums and playlists to better promote their artists, the report said.