YouTube is one of those apps that seems like it’ll be around forever, and given the amount of traffic and ad revenue it generates, that prospect is not unlikely. For the most part, YouTube’s reputation and staying power are well deserved, stoking that fire with tons of updates that keep YouTube fresh; just look at the library of would-be usurpers that Google’s platform has flattened over the years.
But YouTube’s premium subscription service, which allows users access to several gated features, like locked screen functionality, official ad blocking, and more, leaves much to be desired. It sounds great until you spot the price, $13.99 per month on Android and an obscene $18.99 on Apple products — utterly unreasonable pricing for an ostensibly free app.
Other premium services like Netflix and Spotify generate a ton of goodwill by offering a range of subscription plans that vary in price depending on the provided benefits. True, the above are premium apps that you need a subscription to use at all, but when it comes to convincing users whether the benefits of spending outweigh the cost, they’re in the same boat. YouTube could learn a lot from this, as the features it locks behind a paywall are not inseparable and could easily serve as lone deal-breakers. Here are a few things that YouTube could potentially change to make Premium more flexible.
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How could YouTube cut down on its premium service?
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One big proposed advantage of YouTube Premium is access to YouTube Music, a platform dedicated to music streaming, following current artists, and enjoying favorite podcasts. Despite being a little too video-centric for a platform supposedly dedicated to audio content, the app isn’t too bad. Whatever you think of the service, though, it’s hard to justify the fact that it’s impossible to subscribe to YouTube Premium without also getting YouTube Music Premium. That’s good for some subscribers who actually want both, but a YouTube Premium tier that doesn’t include a YouTube Music subscription could surely be offered at a lower price. Google must believe this strategy will boost YouTube Music adoption, but I think it’s more likely just hurting YouTube Premium attachment.
Special attention could also be applied to the ad blocker and locked screen play features, each of which could have its own subscription tier with a cheaper price tag. This would be ideal for folks who don’t mind ads but want their videos playing in the background and those who don’t mind having the app open but despise ads. Forcing both for seemingly no reason at a higher cost risks making the whole idea feel too pricey and ultimately not worth it, particularly when it comes to ad blockers. Considering the ads currently plaguing the service are irritating enough to push users toward external ad blockers, something that just so happens to be against YouTube’s terms of service, it couldn’t hurt to provide an affordable alternative through official channels.
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The worst part is that this isn’t all hypothetical. YouTube attempted a cheaper version of YouTube Premium back in 2021: YouTube Premium Lite, a cheaper alternative that Google piloted in Europe, stripped Premium’s features down to a single one: no ads. Unfortunately, the offering never made it to the US, being discontinued very quickly, mainly because the price reduction did not outweigh the omitted benefits. Now it toils on the mountain of dead services Google keeps in its backroom.
Premium’s potential is ripe for exploitation
As someone who has stoically tolerated the constant cloying suggestions from YouTube for years, I can agree that YouTube Premium offers features that are well worth a subscription fee, especially since I use it more than any other app on my phone. That being said, the unflexible pricing needs to be reworked in line with other services that do it effortlessly and consideration needs to be given to the individual merits of each feature that YouTube Premium hordes. While the premium service has hardly been a failure, recently celebrating 100 million subs across YouTube Premium and YouTube Music, it could definitely reel in some of us on the fence if it offered a few more specialization options at lower prices.
