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Google launches Play Music Family Plan: $15 for 6 people

Google is matching Apple Music's family plan with a $15 monthly deal of its own, which includes YouTube Red video content.
Written by Kevin Tofel, Contributor
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One of the key advantages Apple Music has held over Google Play Music is gone: Google is matching Apple's service with a family plan of its own.

Google announced the Play Music Family Plan on Wednesday, explaining that the $14.99 a month subscription option supports up six Google accounts.

Users will still have access to the 35 million audio tracks Google offers ad-free for paying Google Play Music subscribers. Music can be heard via the apps for Android and iOS or through the Play Music website. Google will also keep family member's playlists and favorites separate.

When Apple Music was introduced earlier this year, I felt that the most disruptive feature was the $14.99 a month family plan because it represented a reasonable cost savings from individual subscriptions -- which are $9.99 a month -- and few music services had plans that could match it at the time.

Google is not only matching that, but in the U.S., it's exceeding that by including YouTube Red as part of the Play Music Family Plan, which provides ad-free music videos that can be watched on or offline.

The new Play Music Family Plan is available today in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, France and Germany, with more countries "coming soon" says Google.

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