So this is some bollocks. Guess I'll be cancelling our plan since it's only used by two of us.
Current price $17.99/month, new price $32.99/month.
If they boiled the frog better I would probably have accepted a $5/month price rise, and then another later... But close to doubling in one go is a no from me dawg.
Thank you for being a loyal member throughout our journey. We created YouTube Premium so that you could enjoy all the videos and music you love without interruptions.โ
To continue delivering great service and features, we are increasing the YouTube Premium family plan price to A$32.99/month. We don't make these decisions lightly, and this update will allow us to continue to improve YouTube Premium and support the creators and artists you watch on YouTube. This is the first ever price increase for your subscription.
Links to cancellation etc: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/12400348?sjid=6028684095030617608-AP
I'm never going to shed any tears for Google losing revenue, and I've got no issues with people using adblockers etc. That said, I think saying that not being able to understand why people pay for it risks being a bit narrow minded.
Paying for things that you use shouldn't be seen as some abherrent action. If you watch an hour of YouTube a day on average that's still less than a buck an hour even with the price hike. I imagine some folks also like the convenience of being able to just use the official aps without fucking around, particularly if they have iPhones.
Pay for premium, or watch ads, or get into the ad-avoidance arms race, or stop using YouTube. It doesn't bother me which one people choose. But this opinion that some folks seem to have that they are for some reason entitled to gratis, ad-free video streaming is so bizarre.