Today I am ringing the bell: As of September 2022, YouTube surpassed 80 million Music and Premium subscribers globally, including those in trials. This is a 30 million member increase from the 50 million we announced last year, and a monumental moment for music on YouTube, our subscribers, and artists. We couldn’t have done it without you.
You’ve heard me say it before, and I am going to say it again: YouTube’s twin engine of revenue – subscriptions and ads – is the real deal. In September, we announced a $6B revenue contribution to the music industry, with 30% coming from user generated content, and now we’ve reached this 80+ million milestone by building a subscription service with the music industry that puts fans FIRST. Hopefully these milestones demonstrate our commitment to becoming the #1 contributor of revenue to the music industry.
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You might be asking yourself how we reached over 80 million subscribers, given the 30 million member increase from last year. Here’s how:
- YouTube Premium: YouTube Premium is all of YouTube and YouTube Music, ad-free and available to play in the background or offline, on your mobile device or your TV. And now we’ve leveled it up even further with features like afterparties, which grant exclusive access to livestream content (like the in-person premiere of Adele’s music video floating down a lazy river drinking wine), plus access to discounts on the latest hardware and services from Google.
- Putting the fans FIRST: YouTube Premium allows fans to immerse themselves in what they love. And when they love music, we help them go deep. We prompt them to download videos or enter long listening sessions on the YouTube Music app, which is the home to over 100M official songs, plus an expansive catalog of live performances, remixes, and diamond in the rough deep-cuts. Premium makes it even easier for fans to enjoy every music format: long-form music videos, short-form videos, livestreams, podcasts, and more.
- Meaningful global partnerships: We understand the power of collaboration. Since the launch of YouTube Music and YouTube Premium, we’ve built partnerships with companies like Samsung, carriers like SoftBank (Japan), Vodafone (Europe), and LG U+ (Korea), and Google services such as Google One. These partners were critical in helping us reach this 80 million subscriber milestone and will continue helping us enhance the music experience for fans around the world.
- Test. Learn. Repeat. We are 7 years into the subscription game, and we continue to learn as we go. We know we can do better, and we never lose sight of that. It always starts with the user, and we’re learning what makes them want to join the party. Billions of music fans come to YouTube every month – the opportunity humbles us.
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YouTube offers fans the ability to discover music, consume music, and participate with music all in ONE place. And we believe offering this across all music formats (long-form videos, short-form videos, albums, live streams, etc.) puts us in our own lane. Continuing to partner with you all will allow us to work towards our mission of becoming the best place for every music fan. We couldn’t be more excited about building the future of music with you and your artists. Thank you again for helping us reach this milestone – on to the next one!
With love and respect,
Lyor