YouTube Premium offers a compelling package for anyone streaming music and watching videos. It delivers a full YouTube Music subscription, ad-free videos on YouTube, and several additional features like offline playback. However, I want a few more features if I’m going to keep paying for it.

As a long-time user of Google’s video and music services, I thoroughly enjoy YouTube Premium. While I miss Google Play Music, YouTube Music fills the gap and helps me discover new songs and artists. I also love watching YouTube without ads. Premium is a package deal, though, and both services could be a little better.

What Is YouTube Premium?

YouTube Premium is Google’s highest-tier offering. It delivers ad-free viewing of almost all videos while supporting your favorite creators. Instead of watching an ad at the beginning of every video, it jumps right into the action. Additionally, a YouTube Premium subscription comes with offline video playback (downloads), background playback for songs or podcasts, access to exclusive videos, and more.

More importantly, it also includes a subscription to YouTube Music, so you can listen to endless songs, save music offline, and enable background listening. Essentially, you’ll get the best of YouTube and Music all for one monthly payment.

YouTube Premium is $13.99 per month, although Google is testing a new Lite plan in select markets for $7.99 that excludes music. Honestly, for the price, YouTube Premium delivers a package that’s mostly worth paying for. For example, Spotify Premium is $12 per month, so for only $1 more, you get a similar music experience plus zero ads on YouTube. But I want more.

More Control Over YouTube and My Subscriptions

I love ad-free YouTube as much as the next person, but for me, that’s the only real benefit. I don’t download videos to watch later. I mostly pay for Premium for YouTube Music; ad-free videos are just an added bonus.

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Don’t Get YouTube Music, Get YouTube Premium

YouTube Premium is a subscription worth paying for.

With that in mind, I think Google could make Premium more compelling by giving us more control over the YouTube experience. More specifically, it would be amazing if Google let us choose from different layouts. The company redesigned YouTube’s layout in 2024 and continues to tweak things. I’m not a huge fan, and I don’t like too many changes. Sure, YouTube allows a few small playback and performance controls, but I want to make it my own.

I want to remove Shorts completely, change what I see on the landing page, and organize all the channels I subscribe to. Trust me, I know that’s asking a lot, as YouTube’s algorithm is far more important than my $13.99 per month. But if you’re anything like me, you have a ton of interests and follow countless YouTube channels.

YouTube will let you organize your subscriptions by what it deems most relevant, and I hate that. Other options include sorting by new activity or alphabetically. I’d rather put my favorite channels at the top of that list instead of scrolling and digging around to find them.

I don’t want the YouTube algorithm telling me what to watch. I want to use my Premium subscription to organize the videos on the landing page, how I access my subscriptions, and make my favorite channels easier to view. Wouldn’t it be great if we could organize YouTube subscriptions and channels into folders? I could put all the tech channels in one place, sports in another, entertainment in a folder, and music could have its own, too. That way, I could instantly tap on a folder based on what I want to view, find a channel I’m subscribed to, and start watching.

Instead, YouTube blasts the landing page with random stuff, a few recent videos from creators I follow, YT Shorts, and movies I’ll never rent or buy. See my point?

YouTube Music Needs Hi-Res Audio

YouTube Music’s audio quality isn’t awful, and depending on the song, it often sounds better than Spotify. However, it’s not a consistent experience. I notice it dips randomly, and things could always be slightly better.

By default, YouTube Music is set to 128kbps, which isn’t all that great for anyone who’s an audiophile or prefers a crisp, clear, clean sound. Here are the audio quality options available:

• Low: Uses the least data with 48kbps AAC and OPUS.
• Normal: The default setting, with 128kbps AAC and OPUS.
• High: Uses extra data with 256kbps AAC and OPUS.

At one point, my app had an “Always High” option, which delivered 256kbps AAC and OPUS regardless of your data connection. However, that option is no longer available. As a result, I notice the quality will drop occasionally, even on my 1.5G fiber internet connection.

More importantly, YouTube Music doesn’t offer hi-res or lossless audio formats, something you can get from the best music streaming services like Apple, Deezer, and Tidal. Even Amazon Music Unlimited has a higher option for those who want it. Maybe it’ll show up eventually, but I’m not holding my breath. Maybe if Spotify ever gets around to launching its rumored Spotify Music Pro tier with Hi-Fi music, we’ll see YouTube follow. I know it’s somewhat “niche,” but I’d love a higher-quality audio option.

So, Google, how about it? Can we get a few more options to tailor the video experience on YouTube along with high-quality audio on YouTube Music?