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🦉 WE READ 737 OWNER COMMENTS
YouTube Music Premium: what owners actually say
Owners appreciate the unmatched catalog of unofficial and rare music plus bundled ad-free YouTube, but many resent paying Google $400/year and fear creeping enshittification.
What owners complain about
- Price unjustifiably high COMMON
Multiple users call ~$400/year excessive, noting YouTube doesn't even produce its own content unlike Netflix which charges less. The bundled model forces music + video together.
- Ads injected even for Premium subscribers SOME
Google attempted advertising injection into YouTube Music for paying Premium users, prompting cancellation threats and accusations of pure greed.
- Basic features locked behind paywall SOME
Background playback—considered a baseline feature for any music app—requires Premium. Users on free tier cannot play music with screen off without kernel hacks or workarounds.
- Buggy client behavior FEW
At least one Mac user reports the video panel repeatedly reopening after being collapsed, forcing attention to video when they just want audio.
- Distrust of Google's long-term intentions COMMON
Multiple users predict ads will eventually appear even in Premium tiers, citing the 'enshittification' pattern where platforms squeeze users after locking them in.
What owners love
- Unmatched catalog depth
Users consistently highlight access to unofficial remixes, mixtapes (e.g., Lil Wayne's full mixtape catalog), video game soundtracks, unreleased tracks, and underground music that Spotify and Apple Music don't carry.
- 2-in-1 bundle value
Paying for YouTube Music Premium also removes ads from regular YouTube, which many users describe as the real draw—they subscribed for ad-free video and got the music app as a bonus.
- Superior recommendation algorithm
Several users report YouTube Music's recommendations based on viewing/listening history surface better and more relevant new music than Spotify's playlisting.
- Fallback to main YouTube
If a song isn't available on YouTube Music proper, it can usually be found on YouTube itself, giving the service effectively the largest music library of any platform.
- Free tier is functional
Unlike some competitors, YouTube Music offers a free listening option, which users appreciate even if it lacks background playback and includes ads.
Surprising patterns
- Several Premium subscribers didn't initially realize YouTube Music was included with their YouTube Premium subscription—they subscribed purely for ad-free video and discovered the music service after the fact.
- The killer feature for a vocal subset of users isn't mainstream music but access to niche content: bootleg remixes, fan covers, video game OSTs, and mixtapes that exist only on YouTube and are absent from traditional streaming catalogs.
- A significant portion of commenters would happily pay for music but refuse to give Google money on principle, citing monopoly concerns, privacy distrust, and the company's history of killing products—these users actively choose ad blockers over payment.
WHO SHOULD SKIP IT
Anyone philosophically opposed to funding Google's ecosystem, or users wanting a polished standalone music app rather than a YouTube-bolted-on experience, should look elsewhere.
Synthesised from 737 real owner comments across 4 platforms. Every point is grounded in the comments — no marketing, no AI guessing. How we do it →