<![CDATA[Purpose - This study examines how perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, and price value shape user attitudes and the behavioral intention to subscribe to a freemium music-streaming service, and what these relationships imply for platform monetization. Design/methodology/approach - We used an explanatory quantitative design. Data were collected from 385 YouTube Music freemium users through an online questionnaire and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling with SmartPLS 4.1.8. Findings - All eleven hypotheses are supported. The model explains 73.9% of the variance in attitude toward use and 74.1% in behavioral intention, with a predictive relevance of 0.935 and an SRMR of 0.043. Perceived ease of use is the dominant antecedent of attitude (β = 0.416), while price value is the strongest direct predictor of behavioral intention among the exogenous constructs (β = 0.287). Attitude toward use partially mediates the effects of ease of use, usefulness, and enjoyment, absorbing 31-45% of their total effects. Practical implications - Conversion depends less on feature abundance than on the joint management of usability, affective experience, and perceived monetary fairness. Managers can translate this into tier design, differentiated pricing for price-sensitive segments, and retention programmes that raise customer lifetime value. Originality/value - The study integrates utilitarian, hedonic, and monetary-value constructs within a single TAM–SOR model in an emerging-market freemium setting, linking user-perception research to platform revenue structure. Paper type – Research paper]]>
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