YouTube Red and Google Play Music Will Merge To Create a New Service

YouTube's head of music, Lyor Cohen, confirmed that the company is planning on merging its Google Play Music service with YouTube Red to create a new streaming offering. "The important thing is combining YouTube Red and Google Play Music, and having one offering," Cohen said. The Verge reports: Right now, YouTube's music ecosystem is unnecessarily complicated. There's YouTube Red, which removes ads from videos and lets you save them offline, while also giving you access to Google Play Music for free. Then there's YouTube Music, which anyone can use, but it gets better if you're signed up for YouTube Red. And YouTube TV is also a thing -- an entirely separate thing -- but it's not available everywhere yet. The merger has been rumored within the industry for months, and recently picked up steam after Google combined the teams working on the two streaming services earlier this year. In a statement to The Verge, Google said it will notify users of any changes before they happen. "Music is very important to Google and we're evaluating how to bring together our music offerings to deliver the best possible product for our users, music partners and artists. Nothing will change for users today and we'll provide plenty of notice before any changes are made."