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YouTube Premium

Updated: 12/20/2025, 12:03:13 PM Wikipedia source

YouTube Premium (formerly Music Key and YouTube Red) is a subscription service offered by the American video platform YouTube. The service provides ad-free access to content across the service, as well as access to exclusive YouTube Originals programming produced in collaboration with the site's creators, ability to download videos and listen background playback of videos on mobile devices, and access to the music streaming service, YouTube Music, along with other benefits. It has over 125 million subscribers. The service was launched on November 14, 2014, as Music Key, offering advertisement-free streaming of music videos from participating labels on YouTube and Google Play Music. The service was then revised and relaunched as YouTube Red on October 21, 2015, expanding its scope to offer advertisement-free access to all YouTube videos, as opposed to just music. YouTube announced the rebranding of the service as YouTube Premium on May 17, 2018, alongside the return of YouTube Music as a separate subscription service. Later in the year, it was reported that YouTube was planning to make some of the original content associated with the service available on an ad-supported basis.

Infobox

Formerly
mw- Music Key (2014–15) YouTube Red (2015–18)
Company type
Subscription service
Industry
Internet
Founded
November 14, 2014; 11 years ago (November 14, 2014)
Headquarters
901 Cherry AvenueSan Bruno, California, United States
Area served
119 countries and territories; mostly in the Americas, Europe and Oceania, and in parts of Africa and Asia (see full list)
Members
125 million (as of March 2025[update])
Parent
YouTube
Website
youtube.com/premium

Tables

· Geographic availability
As Music Key
As Music Key
History of expansion
As Music Key
Date
Date
History of expansion
Date
History of expansion
Countries/regions
History of expansion
Reference(s)
November 14, 2014
November 14, 2014
History of expansion
November 14, 2014
History of expansion
United States
As YouTube Red
As YouTube Red
History of expansion
As YouTube Red
Date
Date
History of expansion
Date
History of expansion
Countries/regions
History of expansion
Reference(s)
October 21, 2015
October 21, 2015
History of expansion
October 21, 2015
History of expansion
United States
May 18, 2016
May 18, 2016
History of expansion
May 18, 2016
History of expansion
Australia New Zealand
December 6, 2016
December 6, 2016
History of expansion
December 6, 2016
History of expansion
South Korea
As YouTube Premium
As YouTube Premium
History of expansion
As YouTube Premium
Date
Date
History of expansion
Date
History of expansion
Countries/regions
History of expansion
Reference(s)
May 22, 2018
May 22, 2018
History of expansion
May 22, 2018
History of expansion
Australia Mexico New Zealand South Korea (paid only) United States
June 18, 2018
June 18, 2018
History of expansion
June 18, 2018
History of expansion
Austria Canada Finland France Germany Ireland Italy Norway Russia (suspended on March 10, 2022, until further notice) Spain Sweden United Kingdom
August 29, 2018
August 29, 2018
History of expansion
August 29, 2018
History of expansion
Belgium Netherlands Denmark Luxembourg
September 26, 2018
September 26, 2018
History of expansion
September 26, 2018
History of expansion
Brazil
November 14, 2018
November 14, 2018
History of expansion
November 14, 2018
History of expansion
Chile Colombia Japan Peru Portugal Switzerland Ukraine
March 13, 2019
March 13, 2019
History of expansion
March 13, 2019
History of expansion
Argentina Bolivia Costa Rica Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Guatemala Honduras India Nicaragua Panama Paraguay South Africa Uruguay
May 16, 2019
May 16, 2019
History of expansion
May 16, 2019
History of expansion
Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Hungary North Macedonia Poland Romania
July 17, 2019
July 17, 2019
History of expansion
July 17, 2019
History of expansion
Bosnia & Herzegovina Croatia Estonia Greece Iceland Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Malta Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Turkey
September 11, 2019
September 11, 2019
History of expansion
September 11, 2019
History of expansion
Bahrain Israel Kuwait Lebanon Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates
November 6, 2019
November 6, 2019
History of expansion
November 6, 2019
History of expansion
Hong Kong Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Singapore Taiwan Thailand
March 10, 2020
March 10, 2020
History of expansion
March 10, 2020
History of expansion
Nigeria Turks and Caicos Islands Venezuela
June 10, 2020
June 10, 2020
History of expansion
June 10, 2020
History of expansion
American Samoa Aruba Belarus Bermuda Cayman Islands Egypt French Guiana French Polynesia Guadeloupe Guam Northern Mariana Islands Papua New Guinea Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands
April 12, 2023
April 12, 2023
History of expansion
April 12, 2023
History of expansion
Vietnam
August 2, 2023
August 2, 2023
History of expansion
August 2, 2023
History of expansion
Bangladesh Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka
December 5, 2023
December 5, 2023
History of expansion
December 5, 2023
History of expansion
Algeria Cambodia Georgia Ghana Iraq Jordan Kenya Laos Senegal Tunisia
March 14, 2024
March 14, 2024
History of expansion
March 14, 2024
History of expansion
Azerbaijan Jamaica Kazakhstan Libya Morocco Réunion Tanzania Uganda Yemen Zimbabwe
History of expansion
As Music Key
Date
Countries/regions
Reference(s)
November 14, 2014
United States
As YouTube Red
Date
Countries/regions
Reference(s)
October 21, 2015
United States
May 18, 2016
Australia New Zealand
December 6, 2016
South Korea
As YouTube Premium
Date
Countries/regions
Reference(s)
May 22, 2018
Australia Mexico New Zealand South Korea (paid only) United States
June 18, 2018
Austria Canada Finland France Germany Ireland Italy Norway Russia (suspended on March 10, 2022, until further notice) Spain Sweden United Kingdom
August 29, 2018
Belgium Netherlands Denmark Luxembourg
September 26, 2018
Brazil
November 14, 2018
Chile Colombia Japan Peru Portugal Switzerland Ukraine
March 13, 2019
Argentina Bolivia Costa Rica Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Guatemala Honduras India Nicaragua Panama Paraguay South Africa Uruguay
May 16, 2019
Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Hungary North Macedonia Poland Romania
July 17, 2019
Bosnia & Herzegovina Croatia Estonia Greece Iceland Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Malta Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Turkey
September 11, 2019
Bahrain Israel Kuwait Lebanon Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates
November 6, 2019
Hong Kong Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Singapore Taiwan Thailand
March 10, 2020
Nigeria Turks and Caicos Islands Venezuela
June 10, 2020
American Samoa Aruba Belarus Bermuda Cayman Islands Egypt French Guiana French Polynesia Guadeloupe Guam Northern Mariana Islands Papua New Guinea Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands
April 12, 2023
Vietnam
August 2, 2023
Bangladesh Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka
December 5, 2023
Algeria Cambodia Georgia Ghana Iraq Jordan Kenya Laos Senegal Tunisia
March 14, 2024
Azerbaijan Jamaica Kazakhstan Libya Morocco Réunion Tanzania Uganda Yemen Zimbabwe

References

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    https://www.kodino.com/ca/youtube-premium-without-ads-for-only-0-50-per-month-step-by-step-guide-on-how-to-activate-it
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    https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2019/07/18/youtube-premium-music-countries/
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  29. The Verge
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  30. The Verge
    https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/25/23889917/youtube-premium-lite-subscription-discontinued-retired
  31. Mashable
    https://mashable.com/article/youtube-4k-premium-experiment-ends
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    https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/10/23677141/youtube-premium-subscribers-higher-quality-video-1080p
  33. ZDNET
    https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/home-entertainment/youtube-premium-quietly-raises-subscription-prices/
  34. NDTV Gadgets360.com
    https://gadgets.ndtv.com/android/features/android-oreo-best-new-features-download-1740960
  35. TechCrunch
    https://techcrunch.com/2015/10/21/youtube-red
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    https://web.archive.org/web/20180320094442/https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6348058
  37. The Verge
    https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/5/15194374/youtube-tv-live-streaming-10-important-things-to-know
  38. CNET
    https://www.cnet.com/news/youtube-reportedly-making-future-exclusive-content-free-with-ads-from-2020/
  39. Variety
    https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/youtube-originals-strategy-free-ad-supported-shows-scripted-1203037846/
  40. The Verge
    https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/18/22889889/youtube-originals-series-ending-susanne-daniels
  41. Wired
    https://www.wired.com/story/youtube-premium-features-perks/
  42. The Motley Fool
    https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/personal-finance/articles/5-reasons-youtube-premium-is-worth-every-penny/
  43. Android Authority
    https://www.androidauthority.com/youtube-premium-popups-ads-3209067/
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    https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/1/24058265/youtube-premium-music-100-million-subscribers
  45. The Verge
    https://www.theverge.com/2014/6/17/5817408/youtube-reportedly-block-videos-indie-artists
  46. The Guardian
    https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/22/indie-labels-youtube-subscription-music
  47. The Guardian
    https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/23/talks-indie-labels-stall-youtube-music-subscription-service
  48. The Guardian
    https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jun/17/youtube-indie-labels-music-subscription
  49. TechCrunch
    https://techcrunch.com/2015/10/21/an-offer-creators-cant-refuse/
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    https://www.theverge.com/2015/10/23/9602998/espn-youtube-red-blackout-pulling-videos
  51. The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/17/business/media/cd-loving-japan-resists-move-to-digital-music-.html
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    https://support.google.com/youtubemusic/answer/6313540?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop
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  61. Android Police
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  80. 9to5Google
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  81. Android Kenya
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  82. Google Blog (Mideast & North Africa)
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  83. Android Police
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  84. GSMArena
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