Smart Home Devices like Echo and Google Home offer ad-supported streaming

Free streaming tiers available to owners of two popular home devices.

Amazon announced plans to make Amazon Music available for free — with ads — to Echo owners.

Now Google has made YouTube Music available for free — with ads — to people who use Google Home smart speakers and Google Assistant-powered speakers (in select regions, including North America and Europe).

How will two new ad-supported streaming services alter the industry?

There’s a good article about what Amazon’s ad-supported strategy might mean not JUST for Google, who’s already responded in kind, but to Spotify and Facebook as well.

I personally don’t see Apple straying from the course it’s set for the HomePod and Apple Music, but it will be interesting to watch if and how this ad-supported streaming trend spreads to other home devices.

Got a home device? Will you suffer through some ads to save a few bucks?

Or — ya know — is music, like, worth PAYING for? ; )