YouTube Red goes live in the US

YouTube’s new ad-free subscription offering has gone live in the US, amid reassurances by the video site that content creators will be paid during YouTube Red’s 30-day trial period.

In a blog post titled ‘seven things to know about our new subscription service’, YouTube said that, as Google Play Music users will automatically gain access to YouTube Red, it will pay part of its revenue from these subscribers to content creators “on day one”.

“Even with 30 day free trials, our creator community will make as much or more as they would have without YouTube Red,” said YouTube.

“With the launch of YouTube Red, our creator community will make as much or more money on YouTube than they would have without it. And on a per-user basis, a paying YouTube Red member will generate more money for creators than a typical ad-viewing, free user.”

Addressing YouTube content creators, the video site said that video makers “don’t need to do anything differently for YouTube Red” – such as making longer videos.

It added that creators’ videos will be available as part of YouTube Red whether they opt to pay for a membership or not.

YouTube unveiled its new pay-monthly offering – which lets viewers access an ad-free version of the service, watch videos offline on phones and tablets and view videos in the background on mobile devices – just last week.