Summary

  • YouTube Music is testing static banner ads on the Now Playing screen for free users.
  • The banner ad placement could irritate some users due to the shrinking of the album art and playback controls.
  • This new ad format has not been widely rolled out to free users of the app.

YouTube Music is among the best audio streaming services you can find today. While its Premium subscription comes bundled with plenty of benefits, a significant portion of listeners still rely on the free version of the app to get their podcasts, music, or other audio content. For a while now, YouTube Music has managed to monetize its free tier with skippable video ads in between tracks. We’re now learning that the app may be testing a new static banner ad within the Now Playing screen.

YouTube Music

In a screenshot shared on Reddit by a YouTube Music user, we see the banner ad positioned between the album artwork and the song title. As a result, the album art is smaller, while the music controls also appear somewhat smaller to the eye. This space contains the standard elements of a banner ad, including the “Sponsored” disclaimer, a URL, plus a dedicated button to visit the sponsor’s site (via 9to5Google).

As of right now, YouTube Music places video ads between tracks, with these ads sometimes appearing when you play music after a gap. Free users are also defaulted to the video versions of certain songs. Trying to switch to audio using the button on the Now Playing screen activates a pop-up prompting users to buy YouTube Music Premium to “Switch seamlessly between audio and video.” However, this particular restriction doesn’t exist for podcasts on the service’s free tier.

Current ad-supported Now Playing screen vs upcoming (via Reddit)

Given that ads are already a big part of the free YouTube Music experience, some users will undoubtedly be irked by the placement of this upcoming banner ad. We’re not seeing it widely rolled out yet for free users, so it’s likely the team is still testing the waters right now. In any case, don’t be surprised to find this becoming a permanent fixture on the free tier of Google’s streaming service.

Users can get rid of ads from the app and unlock all paywalled features with a subscription to YouTube Music Premium for $11/month. Alternatively, you can pay $3 more per month and get YouTube Premium, which includes all the benefits of the Music Premium subscription, plus ad-free videos on YouTube, background play, downloads for offline viewing, and more.