The price of an individual YouTube Premium subscription is increasing by $2 to $13.99 per month in the US for new and current customers.

This price increase is live for new subscribers as seen on youtube.com/premium. Instead of $11.99, YouTube Premium now costs $13.99/month. Meanwhile, it’s $18.99 if you’re subscribing from the iOS YouTube app.

  • Fizz@lemmy.nz
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    People tell me oh youtube prem is reasonable but I know that yt is just going to raise the price bit by bit and everyone will accept it because they have no other option.

    • shirro@aussie.zone
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      As with all monopolies/cartels/prohibitions unsatisfied demand always finds alternatives. If the rules get in the way people circumvent them. Youtube premium price increases will create a bigger demand for ad blocking. Just as the balkanisation of streaming services and reduced value will return many people to piracy. The people who run these organisations are idiots who destroy brands and shareholder value to get short term attention and bonuses.

      • Fizz@lemmy.nz
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        Front ends aren’t really an alternative option. You are still using youtube. Youtube will continue to try and stop ad blockers and shutdown these Frontends. Eventually they will be successful. The more inconvenient they make it to use these technologies the more people will pay for yt prem. The only option is to start making the very painful switch to alternative platforms.

      • zxo@sopuli.xyz
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        Don’t forget NewPipe for Android, Yattee for Apple devices, SmartTube for most Android TV boxes, Playlet for Roku, and Invidious for PC (if you don’t like Piped).

        The only (usable) platform I can think of without a ad-free YouTube client is maybe webOS for LG TVs.

        (some of these clients are also missing some features because they are new, but they should all be better for watching than the official app)

        • redcalcium@c.calciumlabs.com
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          I just tried installing SmartTube on my Chromecast Ultra today and found out it can pair with YouTube revanced. This fixed my number one issue with revanced where the cast button is not working.

  • Pete Hahnloser@beehaw.org
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    “Not enough people are paying at $11.99. We need to charge more.”

    Just because landlords think they can push through 16% price hikes doesn’t mean everyone got a 16% raise. So they’re trying to steer people from uBO by … enticing them with higher prices?

    • GhostMagician@beehaw.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      I think they know people who aren’t paying already won’t buy it, so they are raising prices on those that found enough value in it to use it. There is YouTube music bundled with it that some like, so seems like smart strategy to me.

      • datavoid@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        In reality they are going to find the limit where paying customers are no longer willing to be.

        I have revanced and newpipe, and was still willing to pay as I get a TON of value out of YouTube. Im totally willing to not pay if they insist, however 🙂

    • Mustafa Albazy@programming.devOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      youll have to pay with a cc based in, say the UK, so they’ll automatically change your location back to the UK. doesn’t work anymore.

      • purpledonkey@beehaw.org
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        I actually recently just changed my cc info to another local cc and I’m still just paying like $2/month and I have a coworker that is still paying the same price to when she signed up in Asia.

  • sparkl_motion@beehaw.org
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    I need to have a serious talk about this with my girlfriend. I didn’t realize she was paying so much for our YT Premium plan.

    These prices are getting ridiculous.

    • WarmSoda@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      What are you guys getting for that money? I honestly don’t know. I just use either an ad blocker or the newpipe app.

      • gk99@beehaw.org
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        It’s a global solution, not just localized to specific areas. No ads on my account on my Xbox, PS5, Switch, Google Home speakers (YouTube Music), Fire TV Stick, Android TV, Roku, my roommate’s Roku, or anyone else’s devices anywhere else, in addition to places like my phone and PC where I just use uBlock Origin.

        In addition, I’m actually just splitting the family plan across three people, so it’s like $7.64/mo, which isn’t bad.

        • WarmSoda@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          Yeah with that many devices that’s worth the ease of use for the price. I’m surprised they don’t block more than one device.

      • fuzzywolf23@beehaw.org
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        1 year ago

        While ad blockers are definitely a thing, I’d also like my favorite channels to get paid. And, honestly, it has to make money somehow – it might as well be off my relatively stable back

        • Alex@lemmy.ml
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          1 year ago

          I’m not so enamored with feeding the bloated behemoth that is Google but I do like the fact the revenue share with creators gets them more per view than they would with ad rolls. It’s a shame you still have to manually skip sponsorship sections on the mobile app.

          • fuzzywolf23@beehaw.org
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            1 year ago

            I agree with you. In an ideal world, I would give 22 dollars to Patreon every month, they would scan my watch history and would distribute 20 dollars proportionally among the channels I watched without Google taking a cut.

            Then Google could drop the price of premium instead of raising it and keep that whole fee.

        • GhostMagician@beehaw.org
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          I use safari with adguard + sponsor block which lets me airplay videos to the TV. I don’t even have the YouTube app installed. No need to try and set up smarttubenext or whatever on the TV.

          • djc1@beehaw.org
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            1 year ago

            I guess you need an Apple TV for that as well?

            Airplay seems pretty useless to me overall as I don’t have anything it seems to want to connect with. Sadly.

            • GhostMagician@beehaw.org
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              1 year ago

              My TV has airplay support built into it so I haven’t needed to get an Apple TV. But you do need an Apple device to use Airplay.

              • djc1@beehaw.org
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                0
                ·
                1 year ago

                Yeah have lots of apple devices but never a TV with airplay. They all seem to have Chromecast where I live.

                Guess I’m buying the wrong TVs :)

                • GhostMagician@beehaw.org
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  0
                  ·
                  1 year ago

                  What brand do you have? If they have Android TV they seem to usually have airplay support too, but you need to go into settings and then get your Apple device paired with the TV to get airplay to start working.

          • Agitone@beehaw.org
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            1 year ago

            Are you able to cast at 4k or 1080p? I used to have youtube premium but moved to the same setup on my phone; ad blocker, sponsor block, youtube mobile, cast to tv. My one issue is that the youtube player only lets me select up to 720p for stream quality, and that doesn’t look fantastic on a tv.

            • GhostMagician@beehaw.org
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              Looks like it is up to only 720p. Never been bothered by it myself for the type of content I’ve air played. Not ideal for movies or TV shows though.

  • ulkesh@beehaw.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Of course they are. Because literally everyone and everything is screwing all of us who aren’t super rich.

    • upstream@beehaw.org
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      “We need to be inflation winners”

      Actual line from the C-level strategy meeting at my company.

      I’m fairly certain we’re not alone.

      Next; let’s talk about how recessions are made….

  • marduk@lemmy.sdf.org
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    I just checked my subscriptions and my YouTube Premium is still grandfathered in at $9.99/mo from my Google Play Music subscription that included Google Red.

    Myself and family listen to music all the time, and YouTube without ads has paid for itself with dev tutorials, DIY videos and other educational stuff; I can’t run aBO on my TV. As soon as they find a way to kick me off my current rate, I’ll bail, but until then I can’t find a cheaper fit for my needs.

    • olpappy@mander.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 year ago

      Hate to break it to you, but grandfathered accounts are all getting hit with the price increase emails now as well. I just got mine an hour ago. Thought I was safe since they promised back in the day to honor the 9.99 price… nope, they expect 13.99 soon, but are giving grandfathered accounts a 3 month extension as a “thank you” for their loyalty.

      • marduk@lemmy.sdf.org
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Whelp, here’s a toast to the future where the creators we enjoy can be supported through a more federated system.

        I don’t think there’s any way to beat YouTube’s infrastructure right now, and you can’t even replicate it without a steady supply of blank checks.

        Any geniuses out there know how to think of a system design that’s FOSS, competes with YT’s pay structure, and who knows what’s the best supply for that pay? I hate advertisements.

        How do we take the money that we already spend for subscription services and funnel that into some kind of pool to be equitably distributed to content creators?

  • MeowyNinhaj@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Is there really anything you would benefit from with premium? Its sooo easy to find other content for free elsewhere and use YT ad free is basically one-click on a normal computer.

    • MooMix@beehaw.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      You probably can, but I’m lazy ;) I like it. Got the family one so everybody in my house can use it. We listen to a LOT of music on youtube music in my house, and a few of the others like watching cooking shows and silly junk on youtube. There’s some pretty decent content. You can get by with ad blockers and stuff, but since I use the music app in my car and at work I prefer not to deal with all that.

      For most people, there’s probably not much reason to pay for it.

      Edit: Not happy with the constant price hikes though. It seems like the bump the price by a little every year or two.

      • BluePhoenix01@beehaw.org
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        1 year ago

        Yeah. Similar over here. If it was just me, I would be fine to find alternatives and/or blockers, but me, spouse, and kids… on different devices the ad time adds up.

        This price increase sucks though.

        • MooMix@beehaw.org
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          This price increase sucks though.

          Yes it does :\ Lucky for us it doesn’t seem to affect the family package. They raised the price on that last year.

          Here’s hoping they don’t raise the price of that plan too.

  • orcawolfe@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    The funny thing is that I used to have YouTube premium bundled with Google play music, but I had to cancel after they killed it. YouTube music was just a terrible experience coming after GPM (lost a lot of songs in transfer, unable to play only liked songs by certain artists, uploaded music locked in jail and unable to be mixed into playlists, etc…). I felt like I had to voice my complaint by canceling YouTube music, which I could only do by getting rid of YouTube premium as well. How else do you protest a product that got bundled onto something else you already used? Anyway, I would buy a cheaper premium tier if it didn’t include useless YouTube music.

    • delmain@beehaw.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      Same. I used GPM, then when they added YouTube Premium, I used that too. When they killed GPM in favor of YTM, I dropped the entire service.

      • StarServal@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Between GPM shutdown, Crunchyroll’s terrible forced UIX change, and Netflix doing a complete 180 on all of their pro-consumer stances, I decided to say fuck it to all of them and spin up my own home media server.

  • BrotherCod@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    It’s just like the old adage that history repeats itself. All the streaming companies are starting to do the exact same damn thing cable did. They’re starting to bloat their own products and expense them completely out of normal working schmoes price bracket.

    The early 2000s was Paradise for cord cutters. The whole purpose of moving away from cable was the smaller individualized payments. Now if I want to watch all my shows legally I’m approaching cable tv package prices again. I’ll be damned if I ever get trapped into that cycle again. Now the streaming networks are bombarding us with advertisements that compare the cable was when I cut cord 20 years ago. And they’re slowly getting worse.

    • Goronmon@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Still better than cable ever was. No long term contracts, extra fees on bills, tons of useless channels and tons of ads.

      I think people forget how bad cable TV actually is if they haven’t used it for a while.

          • hardypart@feddit.de
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            1 year ago

            The general direction that streaming services have been taking in recent times is clear, though: Raising prices, locking down account sharing, splitting up the content across too many different providers and introducing advertisement in cheaper plans. Sounds pretty cable-y to me.

        • TableCoffee@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          They’ll probably go the way other big subscription services like MS and Adobe are. Annual commitment with monthly payments of x.99 or no commitment with monthly pricing of y + x.99

          I dislike that even more.

    • Zorque@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 year ago

      The early 2000s was before streaming was ever a thing. Netflix was still sending DVDs in the mail en masse.

      • pbjamm@beehaw.org
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        I just canceled the Netflix account I have had since 2002.
        They were great once…

  • sunaurus@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 year ago

    Damn, even $11.99 sounds like a lot - I only pay 12.99€ for a family plan in Europe.

    • ConstableJelly@beehaw.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      I’m unfamiliar but just read a bit. Are updates to the apk manual? Does the android app sync to a browser or desktop version?

      • drifty@sopuli.xyz
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Yeah the updates are provided manually by people who build them, or if you do it yourself. What do you mean by sync?