Google is currently offering potential subscribers its Play Music and YouTube Red services for free, in celebration of the fourth of July.
For four whole months (well-played Google), new users signing up for the monthly plans of either service will get unlimited access and will get to try out the features these new exclusive apps have to offer. Both apps are regularly offered in the same package, granting access to each service once consumers pay for the $9.99 subscription fee.
With the fourth of July offer, new subscribers will get to enjoy the same privileges and can save up to $40 during the trial period. Once the trial ends, users who think the free version of YouTube and other music streaming apps have much more to offer will have to manually end their subscription or else pay, unknowingly, for the consecutive month.
Others who enjoyed the services will then have to pay on a monthly basis and will also have the option to upgrade to a family plan subscription for Google Play Music.
For an additional $5 per month, for a total of $14.99, Play Music can be accessed by up to six members of a family to save them the extra fees encountered in individual subscriptions. Included members will get access to all of the content, but will have their own separate accounts to avoid any overlapping music or playlists.
As for the fairly new service, YouTube Red, the app is already bundled with Play Music as mentioned, meaning interested customers will only have to pay once to get monthly access to both services. YouTube Red is the ad-free version of the normal platform, which does not only remove advertisements integrated into videos, but also offers a YouTube Music feature.
While the traditional YouTube app needs to be running in the foreground and requires the phone's screen to be lighted at all times to play content, YouTube Music allows users to use the app in a non-traditional way, as if it was a music streaming device of its own — in the background, while the screen is turned off, in case you missed that.
Users also have the option to turn off the video and just play the audio directly, to avoid buffering times and save on mobile data. An added "Offline Mixtape" feature automatically downloads music and creates a playlist for offline use, based on users' preferences.
The July 4 Play Music and YouTube Red package is only limited to new subscribers, which is unfortunate news for those who have used previous offers or are already using the services. However, according to some sources, other users have been able to find a workaround by logging out and tapping the "Sign Up" button. This may or may not work, but it's still worth a try, as after all Blizzard won't be in the background to ban us for cheating the system.
Also, just in case the offer doesn't come up on your end, it may only be limited to the U.S. since July 4 is an American holiday. Those who still want to try their luck can visit the Google Play Music signup page.
