The new YouTube subscription could mean the end of Google Play Music

The Google-YouTube family has been moving forward on a new music subscription launch, but the latest reports point to the new service being a replacement rather than an addition to the portfolio. The service, internally dubbed YouTube Remix, may be intended to replace Google Play Music when it launches. Unnamed sources have told a few publications that the launch will mean the end of Google Play Music, although neither Google nor YouTube have confirmed that move. The current speculation is that Google Play Music could shutter before the end of 2018.

The teams working on YouTube Red, the joint audio and video subscription, and Google Play Music were merged last year. Few details were revealed about the motivation, but at the time it seemed to be a positive choice. Given Google’s proliferation of media services and confusing nomenclature, many users didn’t realize that YouTube Red and Google Play Music were connected. As Google is making a more concerted effort in the audio space, it would be logical for the two brands to offer more consistency in their products.