What you need to know
- YouTube has achieved 80 million Premium and Music subscribers.
- The platform's 30 million subscriber rise has been attributed to its new features for users along with its partnerships.
- YouTube states it will continue to refine its service for the user and work alongside its music industry partners to provide meaningful content.
YouTube Premium and Music celebrates gaining 30 million more subscribers this year, achieving a new milestone.
According to YouTube, the company has reached 80 million subscribers globally for Premium and Music, which is up from 50 million subs a year prior. Lyor Cohen, Global Head of Music at YouTube, discussed the achievement through a newsletter.
Cohen attributed YouTube's success in reeling in more subscribers to its Premium service and how that affects users. YouTube Premium offers Music and an ad-free video streaming experience. Premium has also gained new features such as afterparties and discounted hardware for the latest Google products.
YouTube has also worked with its industry partners to offer users an extensive 100 million song catalog to jam to on YouTube Music. The company has built relationships with Samsung, SoftBank in Japan, Vodafone in Europe, and LG U+ in South Korea, along with its offers of Premium and Music through Google One.
"I am so proud and humbled to share that we've reached over 80 million subscribers on YouTube Music and Premium," said Cohen. "Alongside our music industry partners, we've been working hard to make YouTube the best place for every fan and every artist, and today's news marks a significant milestone in that journey. We're not stopping here. We've got lots to do and look forward to driving more growth and contributions back to the music industry."
Hitting 80 million subscribers is an impressive feat, although it falls far behind Spotify's 195 million paid subscribers. Still, YouTube Music remains one of our favorite music streaming services, thanks to its extensive collection of tunes as well as its seamless access to YouTube videos. Google also continues to improve the experience with features like seasonal replays, improved social sharing, and more.
YouTube's Global Head of Music went on to praise its subscription and ads, calling them a "twin engine of revenue." That said, YouTube's Q3 earnings fell quite flat, with many advertisers pulling away from the video platform. YouTube Premium also recently increased the price of its family plan by $5 in the United States, with similar increases in other regions.
Regardless, YouTube is looking to the future to continue to try and refine its subscription-based services as they turn seven years old. YouTube will continue to "put the user first" as it offers a variety of content forms, such as long-form videos from its creators and also its short-form content, Shorts. The company sees this as a way of keeping YouTube "in its own lane" as it looks to continuously differentiate itself.
