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YouTube Premium and Music Top 100 Million Combined Subscribers

Photo by Alexander Shatov via Unsplash

YouTube Premium and Music Top 100 Million Combined Subscribers

By Movieguide® Contributor

After Alphabet released its Q4 2023 report, the company revealed that YouTube’s paid subscription services have surpassed 100 million current users.

The massive milestone indicates a 20 million user growth over the previous year, as the services ended 2022 with just over 80 million combined subscribers. The impressive year-over-year growth was announced as Alphabet – Google and YouTube’s parent company – revealed that its suite of subscription services generated over $15 billion in revenue last year.

“YouTube is the key driver of our subscription revenues,” said Sundar Pichai, Alphabet’s CEO. “YouTube Music and Premium have real momentum. They are engaging passionate users and driving great returns for the music industry and creators.”

YouTube Music offers subscribers ad-free access to over 100 million songs, along with background listening and downloads. YouTube Premium covers those features and includes all of the content on the platform. The services, launched in 2015, saw their first price changes last year as Music rose from $9.99 to $10.99 and Premium jumped from $11.99 to $13.99.

“Many doubted a subscription model could thrive on YouTube,” Lyor Cohen, global head of music at YouTube, wrote in a blog post. “They said the market was crowded and our platform was too different. Today – 100 million subscribers later – our distinctiveness is precisely what drives our success and why I still see so much room for growth.”

YouTube has continued to expand its services within the past year, adding the ability for Premium users to continue watching videos seamlessly across devices along with early access to upcoming AI features. Music also had upgrades, with YouTube adding a Samples tab to discover new music and artists, along with a new radio service.

“Neal [Mohan, CEO of YouTube], Lyor and their team at YouTube deserve enormous credit for achieving this extraordinary milestone and continuing to grow and drive innovation while making significant contributions to the global music ecosystem,” said Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music Group. “Our partnership demonstrates that if you start from a foundation of respect for artists and songwriters, there are limitless opportunities to create thriving businesses that benefit artists and fans alike.”

“Having been at YouTube when we conceived of the subscription service, 100 million customers felt like a distant possibility,” added Robert Kyncl, CEO of Warner Music Group and former YouTube chief business officer. “Today, it’s yet another signpost on a journey of extraordinary growth. The fact that YouTube continues to go from strength to strength isn’t just good for them, it’s healthy for the entire music ecosystem.”

Movieguide® previously reported on YouTube:

YouTube is jumping into the gaming world through its new “Playables” feature.

Playables are currently being tested and are available for Premium users to try. The feature has 37 mini-games available to play within YouTube’s platform – not requiring a download or install.

“Playables are games that can be played directly on YouTube on both desktop and mobile devices,” 9to5Google reported.

The current games library is nothing groundbreaking as it provides access to a safe selection of games such as “Angry Birds Showdown,” “Daily Solitaire” and “The Daily Crossword.” Rather than draw people into the subscription service through the feature, the company appears to be trying to sweeten the deal for current subscribers.


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