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Google planning to unbundle YouTube Premium, music streaming service in Korea

Published: 15 Apr. 2025, 13:55 Updated: 17 Apr. 2025, 15:59

YouTube logo [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Google is reviewing a plan to launch a new YouTube Premium subscription in Korea that excludes YouTube Music.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said Tuesday that it is currently negotiating a consent decision with Google Korea over an ongoing case concerning the YouTube Premium pricing model.

A consent decision allows the FTC to suspend its review if the company under investigation voluntarily offers remedies to resolve consumer harm. It functions as a form of self-regulation.

Last July, the FTC sent Google a review report, equivalent to a prosecutor’s indictment, arguing that bundling YouTube Music with YouTube Premium violates fair trade laws.

In response, Google proposed its own corrective measures during the review process.

The FTC believes Google leveraged YouTube’s dominant market position by forcibly bundling YouTube Music with Premium subscriptions, thereby unfairly hindering other music streaming services from operating in the Korean market.

A comparison between YouTube Premium and YouTube Lite subscription models [SCREEN CAPTURE]

With negotiations underway, there is growing attention on whether a “YouTube Premium Lite” plan — which excludes YouTube Music — will be introduced in Korea.

The Lite plan offers ad-free playback on YouTube but omits features such as YouTube Music, offline downloads and background play. It is currently available only in the United States, Australia, Germany and Thailand. In the United States, the Lite plan costs $7.99 per month, which is about half the price of the full YouTube Premium plan, at $13.99.

In Korea, YouTube Premium is priced at 14,900 won ($10) per month, while YouTube Music is sold separately for 11,990 won per month.

If introduced, the Lite plan could significantly impact Korea’s music streaming market. According to MobileIndex, as of February, YouTube Music ranked first among music streaming services in Korea with 7.24 million monthly active users.

Silhouettes of laptop and mobile device users are seen next to a screen projection of the YouTube logo on March 28, 2018. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

It outpaced major domestic platforms such as Melon, which had 6.77 million users, as well as competitors like Genie, Flo, Vibe, Bugs and Spotify.

The Korea Creative Content Agency (Kocca) noted in its 2024 Music User Survey that “many users access YouTube Music through bundled benefits from YouTube Premium.”

"Interest in subscribing to music-only streaming services is relatively low," read the Kocca report.

Korean music streaming services, which have been steadily losing market share, are expressing cautious relief.

“Since Google began bundling YouTube Music with YouTube Premium in September 2020, the number of users on Korean music streaming platforms has dropped sharply," said a representative from one domestic platform, who asked to remain anonymous.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

BY JEONG YONG-HWAN [[email protected]]