If you want to watch videos on YouTube Music, you’ll have to cough up some cash

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YouTube Music recently announced that the ad-supported, free tier would get free background listening starting with Canadian users.

It’s not all good news, however, as video playback is moving to the Premium tier.

So you’ll only get audio playback on the ad-supported tier once the change goes into effect.

If you’re using the ad-supported tier, you’ll have to open the YouTube app to watch the associated videos with your songs.

Then again, if you’re listening to YouTube Music in the background while you do other things on your device, do you need the video?

This has been one of the main selling points of YouTube Premium accounts since it first came out, so its inclusion on the free tier is big news.

Starting on November 3, Canadian users of YouTube Music will see the following changes to the features they can use:

Ad-supported tier:

• Ability to listen to music in the background
• Shuffle personalized mixes
• Search for mood mixes created by YouTube
• Explore millions of songs and playlists

READ MORE: Google finally adds YouTube Music streaming to Wear OS watches

YouTube Premium:

All of the ad-supported tier features plus the following.

• Listen to on-demand songs
• Watch videos in the YouTube Music app
• Skip tracks without restrictions
• The ads are gone

This move comes after Apple launched a $4.99 tier of Apple Music that’s only available through Siri-enabled devices.

It certainly looks like the streaming market is trying to differentiate with lower-cost, limited versions of their full-price offerings after years of fighting at the other end of the price bracket with hi-res audio.

The real winner? Consumers get more options to choose from to individualize their streaming use.

Have any thoughts on this? Carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.