YouTube Launching Music Subscription Service

YouTube has announced that they will be launching an ad-free music subscription service called YouTube Music Key.

YouTube Music Key will be a streaming service (similar to Spotify, Pandora One, and Apple) available for $9.99 a month. The subscription will also include Google Play Music (normally $9.99 per month),which offers Music Key subscribers access to more than 30 million songs and playlists.

The paid service will launch starting next week, but as an invite-only beta service. The promotional invitation will be offered to Google’s “biggest music fans,” who will have access to it free for six months. After the free six months are up, invited subscribers will be offered a promotional lifetime price of $6.99 per month to continue the service.

“We want YouTube to continue to be the best place for artists and fans to connect,” a YouTube representative said. “We’re announcing a new music experience on YouTube to give fans more ways to enjoy music on YouTube, and give artists more ways to connect with fans and earn more revenue.”

The YouTube Music Key music streaming service will be available in the U.S., Spain, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, the U.K. and Finland.