It Is Estimated That YouTube Has 50 Million Premium And Music Subscribers
It is estimated that YouTube has 50 million Premium and Music subscribers
This represents a significant increase from the 30 million subscribers Google reported in December 2020, and represents a significant increase from the 20 million users who subscribed or tried YouTube Music and YouTube Premium. This appears to be a continuation of a trend in which people are looking to upgrade from the free versions of YouTube and YouTube Music, despite the fact that more services are entering the market.
Because Google does not provide any further breakdown of that 50 million figure, we have no way of knowing how many people are subscribers to YouTube Music or YouTube Premium, or how many people are taking advantage of the services' free one-month trial. In contrast, its blog post devotes a significant amount of space to music, praising YouTube as the fastest-growing music-subscription service in the world. In addition, Variety compared Google's numbers to those of other streaming services. It claims that Spotify has approximately 165 million subscribers, and the Financial Times reports that Apple Music has approximately 78 million subscribers. (The most recent official announcement came in June 2019, when Apple announced that its service had reached 60 million subscribers.)
What Else?
YouTube Music Premium is available for $9.99 per month and allows users to listen to and download music without being interrupted by advertisements. YouTube Premium costs $11.99 per month and provides subscribers with access to all of the features of YouTube Music, as well as the ability to download and watch regular videos without being interrupted by advertisements. While using another app or while their phone is locked, premium subscribers can also have videos play in the background while they are not using it. For those who spend a lot of their time on the platform watching non-music content, this is a significantly better experience for a relatively small increase in cost.
Despite the fact that Google has not commented on the reason for the 20 million-subscriber increase, it is probably worth remembering that the previous year's count was reported right around the time that Google was preparing to shut down its Play Music service. The exact number of people who subscribed to it is unknown, but both Google Play and YouTube Music reportedly had a combined total of 15 million subscribers in 2019.
It's difficult to predict what this means for Google without knowing the specifics of the breakdown. More people were interested in having videos play in the background without interruptions, or were they looking for an alternative or addition to Spotify and Apple Music, according to the results. Take a step back and it becomes clear that more people are at the very least interested in YouTube's paid services. While there have been numerous (and, to be fair, well-founded) complaints about the glut of video and audio streaming services, it appears that there is still room for growth, if Google is any indication of what is possible.
