I’ve had YouTube premium from the inception of their subscription model prior to/at the beginning of YouTube red, as I initially had a paid Google music subscription.

Personally, there isn’t a better option for the amount of hassle involved in my opinion. It’s a family account, and managing so many people’s YouTube experiences on at least a dozen different devices would be a nightmare I don’t want to think about. (Multiple of each TV’s, Roku’s, Android phones, iPhones, pc’s, etc)

This isn’t really relevant to your friend, it is quite silly when it’s just one person not willing to do it for just themselves.