Brand identity is incredibly important but it can also be just as important when it comes to services offered by the companies behind said brands. The number of music streaming services offered by Google can be easily described as confusing since there are so many and each one of them offers something different. Earlier this year it was reported that Google was working on this issue and had plans to merge YouTube Red with Google Play Music. However, a new report claims that YouTube will be launching a new, Spotify-like music streaming service in March of next year.
Google has a history of having multiple choices in the same segment but lately they have begun to consolidate things and show they can focus on what they think is best. We've seen this lately when Google decided to focus on Allo/Duo for their leading messaging platforms and then again with Android Pay. This news about Google launching a new music subscription service could be how they handle their confusing music service issue.
In a new report from Bloomberg, the new music subscription service is being referred to internally as Remix. The report cites "people familiar with the matter" and shows they are working to appease the record-industry executives who have not been happy with how things are at YouTube. It's believed that Warner Music Group, one of the world’s three major record labels, has already signed on and that Google is currently in talks with Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Merlin.
The new music subscription service would work similarly to how Spotify works as an on-demand streaming service, but it would also incorporate elements from YouTube (such as video clips) as a way to bring more to the table. Many feel that Google has a lot of work to do in order to meet their scheduled March launch date, though, and it doesn't help that they're also going to be negotiating a new deal with Vevo in 2018 too.