YouTube Music and Premium reach 100 million subscribers

Today, February 2, 2024, YouTube announced that YouTube Music and Premium have reached 100 million subscribers. Sundar Pichai revealed that Google One will soon reach the same milestone.

This figure (January 2024) also includes trial periods, with YouTube citing “20 million user growth in just over a year”.

On this occasion, YouTube returns to 2015: “we believed there was a desire for a YouTube experience that not only benefits our users, but also the community of creators and artists, so we announced a new subscription service along with the all-new YouTube Music app. Along the way, we've learned a lot, made some twists and turns (and even rebranded), expanded offerings and plans, and made YouTube Music and Premium available in over 100 countries and regions.”

First there was YouTube Music Key, then YouTube Red, and then YouTube Premium, which Google today says “helps maintain a thriving community of creators and artists and provides them with an additional source of subscription revenue". In the US, YouTube Music Premium costs $10.99 per month, while the full Premium video service on the main site is $3 more.

YouTube launched subscriptions in 10 more countries last month and says "more are coming this year".

During its Q4 2023 results presentation, the company said that “Premium users provide more value to our partners and YouTube than even ad-supported users. On average, each additional subscription to the Premium service increases the earnings of creators, music and media partners, and YouTube itself."

In the area of music, YouTube points to recent introductions such as Samples, Create radio and Podcasts. Last year, YouTube Premium prices went up in the US and most other markets as well.

By comparison, Spotify says it has “226 million subscribers in more than 180 markets” (574 million total users), while Apple Music reported 60 million in 2019.