YouTube: Everything you need to know

From user-uploaded videos to movies and music, YouTube's got you covered.

In February 2005, a small company by the name of YouTube was founded. YouTube was trying something new by giving people a free, easy-to-use platform for uploading videos, and a little over a year later, it was purchased by Google.

While YouTube continues to be the largest and most popular user-uploaded video site around, it's since expanded into the markets of music streaming, live television programming, and even creating original content similar to Netflix and Hulu.

It can be difficult to keep track of everything the YouTube brand is attached to these days, so to help keep you in the loop, here's everything you need to know.

YouTube

No matter what new ventures YouTube decides to tackle, the company's bread and butter will always be its main YouTube service for user-created content.

Anyone can upload videos to YouTube, and with enough hard work and dedication, make money on them, too. You can subscribe to channels/users you're particularly fond of, search for specific videos, and catch up with the most popular videos that are currently trending.

You can access YouTube just about anywhere, be it your Android phone, computer, or even a TV.

YouTube has always been free to use, and while there are paid versions we'll dive into in just a minute, the main service itself can be accessed without spending a dime (as long as you're okay with advertisements before your videos).

How to use YouTube for Android

YouTube Music

In an effort to compete with the likes of Apple Music and Spotify, Google's using its YouTube brand to take them head-on with YouTube Music.

YouTube Music follows in the footsteps of its competitors with a price tag of $9.99/month, and for that price, you get access to unlimited on-demand streaming, curated playlists, offline downloads, ad-free music videos, and plenty more.

The end goal is to have YouTube Music eventually replace Google Play Music, and to ensure that transition process is as seamless as can be, Google's confirmed that all of Play Music's best features will eventually come over to YouTube Music — including a digital locker for storing all of your locally owned songs!

YouTube Music is still in early access and gradually rolling out to users, but even in this inaugural stage, is showing a lot of promise.

In addition to completely revamped mobile apps for Android and iOS, you can also access YouTube Music via a brand-new desktop site.

YouTube Music: Everything you need to know!

YouTube Premium / Red

If you're already paying $9.99/month for YouTube Music, you might as well throw in another two dollars and get YouTube Premium, also known as YouTube Red.

YouTube Premium is a subscription service that costs $11.99/month, and in addition to full access to YouTube Music, you also get ad-free videos on YouTube, background playback, and the ability to watch YouTube Originals.

This basically gives you the experience previously found with YouTube Red, and even though it now costs a couple bucks more each month, is still a tremendous value.

What is YouTube Premium? Everything you need to know!

YouTube TV

Last but not least, the YouTube brand is also used to offer an Internet-based live television service via YouTube TV.

YouTube TV costs $40/month, giving you access to more than 60 channels with local sports/news, cloud DVR, and the ability to watch on up to three screens at a time.

You can watch YouTube TV from your Android or iOS device, computer, or right on your TV through a number of smart TV apps (such as Roku, Android TV, Xbox One, and more).

YouTube TV costs a bit more than competing services such as Sling TV and Philo, but for folks invested in the Google ecosystem that want to supplement their live television shows with YouTube programming, too, YouTube TV is still worth checking out.

YouTube TV: Everything you need to know

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