YouTube has confirmed that it’s working on a paid music streaming service

The cat’s out of the bag. After a string of rumors, YouTube has confirmed that it’s launching a paid music service this summer. It’s not saying exactly how the service will work, but Reuters sources claim that it will work largely as leaks suggested back in November. While free videos will still hang around, a subscription will let you listen to songs ad-free, including whole albums. You should also get offline playback for those moments when streaming isn’t an option. If you were expecting the company to budge on its negotiations with indie labels over royalty rates, though, you’ll be disappointed. YouTube’s Robert Kyncl doesn’t believe that getting licensing deals with everyone is an “achievable goal,” and warns that the video host will start blocking clips from holdouts within a “matter of days” so that all content falls under the same terms

Google Inc’s YouTube said on Tuesday that it plans to launch a paid streaming music service, amid criticism that its existing, free video website might block the music videos of labels that do not agree to its terms. YouTube has partnered with “hundreds of major and independent” music labels for the new service, the company said in a statement, confirming long-running rumors that the world’s most popular online video website will offer a paid music service. The news comes as some music trade groups have criticized YouTube’s plans to potentially block the content of certain labels from appearing on YouTube’s free, ad-supported Website unless they sign deals to participate in the new, subscription streaming music service. The deals that YouTube is offering are on “highly unfavorable, and non-negotiable terms,” according to a news release issued by the Worldwide Independent Music Industry Network last month. YouTube declined to comment on the terms of the deals, but said in a statement that the new service would provide new revenue for the music industry. “We’re adding subscription-based features for music on YouTube with this in mind – to bring our music partners new revenue streams in addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars YouTube already generates for them each year,” YouTube said in a statement.