After months of rumors and speculation, YouTube has finally launched the beta for its much-anticipated subscription music package, known as Music Key, in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Finland. The beta will be invite-only for the first six months, with Google Play Music subscribers and heavy consumers of YouTube music videos getting priority access, according to Phandroid.
You don’t need to download a new app or enter in a new URL in order to access the service, it simply adds extra features to the standard YouTube experience, according to Gizmodo. The goal is to allow YouTube to act as a jukebox, something that many people have attempted to do before, but Music Key is really expanding on the idea and removing the barriers that have previously resulted in a sub-par music experience.
One of the most interesting features is the new download button below videos. According to Droid-Life, pressing this button prompts you to choose the quality of the video, which tends to be either 360p or 720p, and then downloads the video so that you can listen to it while offline. The downloaded videos will then appear in the new “Offline” tab.
The new service also allows for background playback, which means that the audio will continue to play in the background even when you leave the YouTube app. The customization options for playback include only allowing streaming when on a Wi-Fi connection, rather than mobile data, as well as specifying the preferred audio quality and choosing whether or not it’s automatically enabled, according to USA Today.
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