It would seem as though music streaming services are the rage these days, what with Apple hopping on board the bandwagon with iTunes Radio, where they join the likes to Spotify, Pandora, and Rdio just to name a few. Well it turns out that YouTube is looking to do the same as well and that they could be launching said service later this year. This is according to a report by Billboard who claims that the music streaming service will share some similarities with Spotify, but with the bonus added feature of a video component, which we guess is not surprising given that is YouTube’s core competency.As expected with most, if not all, music streaming services, YouTube’s offering is said to come in two flavors: a free version and a paid version. The former will offer users access to music and videos for free, although there will be ads interjected and users will not be able to store music for offline access. The paid version will remove ads, allow for music storage offline and is expected to cost users $9.99 a month. Billboard claims that this YouTube music service is expected to see integration into other Google products and has named Google Glass as a possible candidate.
The deal has reportedly been struck with all the necessary parties (read record labels and publishers), but according to a statement released by YouTube, “We’re always working on new and better ways for people to enjoy YouTube content across all screens, and on giving partners more opportunities to reach their fans. However, we have nothing to announce at this time.”