Alphabet's (GOOGL) YouTube Music to Roll Out New Features
Alphabet’s GOOGL division Google is gearing up to roll out the background listening feature on YouTube Music in Canada.
Reportedly, YouTube Music users in Canada will be able to access the feature free of cost on both Android and iOS devices from Nov 3.
With the new capability, users can stream ad-supported songs on the YouTube Music app while using other apps or when the screen is off.
Apart from this feature, the company will also provide a new playback experience to users that will automatically shuffle albums, songs and playlists.
These attractive features are expected to boost the adoption rate of YouTube Music in the country. This in turn will bolster Google’s footprint in Canada.
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Growing Music Streaming Market
With the recent move, Google will be well poised to rapidly penetrate into the booming music streaming market in Canada.
This market has been rising significantly in the country due to an increase in mobile advertisement spending, use of mobile apps, a rise in the number of subscription services and users’ accessibility to local content on music streaming platforms.
Per a report by statista, revenues generated from the music streaming segment in the country are expected to touch $371 million in 2021. It is anticipated to progress at a CAGR of 9.34% between 2021 and 2025, resulting in a forecast market volume of $530 million by 2025.
Further, the report reveals that the number of users in this segment is likely to hit 7.8 million by 2025.
Apart from this, a ResearchAndMarkets.com report indicates that the cloud music streaming market in Canada is expected to witness a CAGR of 13.1% during the 2020-2027 period.
The latest move is likely to bolster the company’s presence in the global music streaming market, which, per a report from Statista, is expected to generate $23.3 billion revenues in 2021.
Further, the figure is expected to reach $34.2 billion by 2025, registering a CAGR of 10.1% between 2021 and 2025.
Competitive Scenario
Given this upbeat scenario, not only YouTube but other companies like Amazon AMZN, Apple AAPL, Spotify SPOT and Tidal are making strong efforts to capitalize on the abovementioned prospects.
Apple Music subscription offers ad-free background audio capability while using other apps or switching off the screen.
Amazon Music Unlimited, which is a premium music subscription service, allows Prime membership users to enjoy millions of songs. Users can simultaneously listen to music and use other apps.
Spotify offers ad-supported music so that users can enjoy audio content for half an hour before the ad playback. They can subscribe to monthly or yearly plans to listen to ad-free content.
Tidal Music — which is a subscription-based music, podcast, and video streaming service — delivers high fidelity, and master quality audio and video experience to users. It also permits users to enjoy millions of ad-free music.
Nevertheless, YouTube Music’s growing efforts toward expanding its features are expected to help it in giving a tough competition to peers.
Currently, Google’s parent Alphabet carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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