YouTube Music and Premium Subscriber Count Hits 100 Million, Revealed During Alphabet’s Q4 2023 Earnings
YouTube’s subscription services, including YouTube Music and YouTube Premium, have reached a milestone of 100 million subscribers globally, spanning over 100 countries.
However, the company has not specified the subscriber distribution between YouTube Music and YouTube Premium. YouTube Premium offers a range of benefits such as ad-free viewing, the ability to play videos in the background, download videos for offline viewing, and complete access to YouTube Music. As of November 2022, these services had amassed over 80 million paid subscribers.
This growth was highlighted in Alphabet’s announcement of its fourth-quarter earnings for 2023, revealing that its subscription-based services, including YouTube’s offerings, YouTube TV, and Google One cloud storage, generated over $15 billion in revenue in the preceding year.
To support the content creator and artist community, YouTube increased the subscription prices in the U.S. for YouTube Premium (from $11.99 to $13.99 per month) and YouTube Music (from $9.99 to $10.99 per month) in July 2023. Adam Smith, YouTube’s VP of product management, emphasized the role of YouTube Premium in providing an additional revenue stream for creators and artists.
Reflecting on the scepticism surrounding YouTube’s subscription model in 2015, Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s global head of music, attributed this success to YouTube’s unique platform and sees potential for further growth.
YouTube has been actively enhancing the user experience for Premium subscribers, introducing features like seamless playback across devices, higher-quality video resolution, and early access to new AI-driven features. For music enthusiasts, YouTube has introduced new ways to discover music and integrated podcasts into YouTube Music.
Sir Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, praised YouTube’s leadership for their significant contributions to the music industry, emphasizing the importance of respecting artists and songwriters in creating successful business models. This comes amid Universal Music Group’s public dispute with TikTok over licensing agreements and concerns related to AI and piracy.
Robert Kyncl, CEO of Warner Music Group and former chief business officer at YouTube, also acknowledged YouTube’s impressive growth and positive impact on the broader music ecosystem. He highlighted the significant journey from launching YouTube’s subscription service to reaching 100 million customers.
Ragul Thangavel
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