San Francisco, Sep 3 (IANS) Google has announced that it has now 50 million users subscribed to or trying YouTube Music and YouTube Premium, which is a marked increase from the 30 million subscribers it reported in December 2020.

According to The Verge, this seems to mark a continued trend in people looking to make the jump from the free versions of YouTube and YouTube Music, even as more services are competing in the space.

YouTube Music Premium costs $9.99 a month and lets users listen to and download ad-free music.

YouTube Premium goes for $11.99 a month and gives subscribers access to all of the benefits of YouTube Music, with the ability to also download and watch regular videos ad-free.

Premium subscribers can also have videos play in the background while they're using another app or their phone is locked.

For those who spend a lot of time watching non-music content on the platform, that's a much better experience for not that much more money, the report said.

Google hasn't commented on what caused the 20 million-subscriber increase, but it's probably worth keeping in mind that last year's count was reported right around the time when Google was shutting down its Play Music service, it added.

--IANS vc/ksk/