YouTube has revealed that it has hit 125 million global subscribers for YouTube Music and Premium.
The streaming subscribers number was announced in a blog post by Lyor Cohen, global head of music at YouTube. The figure includes users on free trials.
Cohen described it as “an incredible milestone that many laughed off as impossible when we first launched”. The number has increased by 25 million in a year.
“This momentum is critical to our goal of becoming the No.1 contributor of revenue to the industry, and we won’t stop until we get there,” wrote Cohen.
With 236 million subscribers, Spotify is currently the biggest revenue partner for the music industry at $10 billion annually.
But YouTube Music has come a long way in a relatively short period of time: it was first launched in 2015 and became a separate subscription service in 2018. Latest data from ERA in the UK suggests YouTube Music is No.3 in music streaming behind Spotify and Amazon Music in the British market, but ahead of Apple Music.
In his blog post, Cohen suggested that there has been a “renaissance of the music video”.
“It’s not about having the biggest production budget; it’s about sharing authentic hero content that music fans can’t unsee,” he wrote. “It’s about using the artist’s most influential asset – the music video – and cutting through the tidal wave of clutter and choice.”
The main YouTube platform marks its 20th anniversary this year. It now reaches more than 100 countries.
“This mission to create the best fan experience fuels a powerful flywheel for artists,” wrote Cohen. “Increased discovery, engagement, and community fuel greater promotion and monetisation opportunities for artists, attracting even more artists and premium content to the platform.”
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