YouTube Music has reached a notable achievement in its expansion within the music streaming sector by disbursing an unprecedented $8 billion to the music industry over a span of 12 months. This milestone underscores the platform’s swift growth and its heightened influence on the music scene. Since its introduction in 2015, concurrently with YouTube Premium, YouTube Music has expanded to more than 125 million paying subscribers as of March 2025. This increase has allowed the platform to significantly enhance its financial stakes in the music industry, with payouts escalating from $4 billion in 2021 to $6 billion in 2022, and now attaining $8 billion.
The platform’s achievements stem from its “dual-engine revenue model,” which merges earnings from paid subscribers and ad-supported users who engage with music videos on YouTube. This structure has positioned YouTube Music to contend more vigorously with the market frontrunner Spotify, which contributed $10 billion to the music industry in 2024. Although it has a smaller subscriber base, YouTube Music’s payouts per stream are said to surpass those of Spotify, rendering its contributions to the industry significant.
Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s global music head, highlighted that the $8 billion payout reflects the platform’s dedication to creating a sustainable environment for artists, songwriters, and publishers globally. As YouTube Music progresses, it stands ready to assume an increasingly vital role in the international music streaming arena.
