YouTube surpasses 50 million premium subscribers. The company’s CEO Lyor Cohen releases a press release to celebrates. It states the following:
As we continue adding new features and benefits for our members, we’re focused on creating experiences at the intersection of watching, listening, and engaging that are only possible because of YouTube’s diversity of voices.
Below we’re sharing a letter from Lyor Cohen, Global Head of Music, who recently celebrated this milestone with our music industry partners.
You’ve heard me say it many times: YouTube’s twin engine growth across ads and subscriptions is fueling our goal to become the music industry’s number one driver of revenue. We recently announced that YouTube has paid out $4B to the music industry in the past 12 months.
Today I’m excited to announce another milestone across our subscription business: YouTube has surpassed 50 million Music and Premium subscribers, including trialers, and is the fastest growing music subscription service out there (MiDIA).
We couldn’t have reached this milestone without you and we’re thrilled to continue building and growing our best-in-class subscription service together.
So how did we get here and where are we going?
We’ve got killer products in YouTube Music and YouTube Premium that deliver truly unique value to artists and creators and the best experience for music fans and video lovers. We’re in our own lane — there’s no other place where fans can get uninterrupted access to the largest and most diverse catalogue of music, artists and culture. We’re making it easy for music fans to go deep and find their thing — whether that’s on YouTube or the YouTube Music app.
When Lil Nas X released the music video for “INDUSTRY BABY” with Jack Harlow, fans from all over the world got to watch the Premiere of the new visual all together for the first time. But the fan experience and engagement with Lil Nas X’s new release didn’t stop there. They were able to learn the lyrics, hear the artists break down the meaning, create a YouTube Short with the track, listen to the rapper’s back catalogue and learn more about the rapper’s story in his own words. No other platform facilitates this level of depth and exploration for music fans.
There are nearly infinite “choose-your-own-fan-adventures” made possible by the artists and fans who come together on YouTube and YouTube Music every day to watch, create, share, comment, cover and remix music content on the platform.
This limitless exploration is further enhanced by YouTube Premium. Members get uninterrupted, ad-free access to all content on YouTube and YouTube Music so they can better connect with artists and creators and more deeply immerse in all the content they love — be that music, learning, fashion or Fortnite.
The unique offerings of YouTube Music and Premium are resonating in established and emerging music markets alike. We’re seeing impressive growth in countries like Korea, India, Japan, Russia and Brazil where music is a top passion.
We’re also investing in new features and exclusive benefits for our members. For example, Tim McGraw hosted an afterparty exclusively for Premium members immediately following the release of his new music video. Intimate fan experiences like these are a win-win for artists and Premium members alike, so expect to see many more of these in the future.
We’re not taking our foot off the gas anytime soon. Thanks for coming along on this ride with us.
On the new accomplishment, Max Lousada, CEO, Recorded Music, Warner Music Group states:
“We live in a highly visual attention economy, and YouTube has led the way in UGC and fan expression. Music has always been a pivotal part of their platform, so it’s great to see them become a dynamic force in subscription streaming too. We look forward to collaborating on many more creative campaigns that amplify our artists and ignite cultural moments all over the world. Congratulations to Susan, Robert, Lyor and the entire YouTube team.”
“Our trailblazing agreement over three years ago with YouTube established a foundation for their commitment to subscription that led to the launch of YouTube Music,” says Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman & CEO of Universal Music Group. “Today, that approach was more than validated as their service passed the 50 million subscriber milestone. Congratulations to Susan Wojcicki and her team for this important accomplishment.”
Lenzo Yoon, HYBE CEO adds: “Congratulations to YouTube on achieving this milestone. YouTube has enabled our artists to reach global audiences and connect with their fans, especially amidst the global pandemic. We are thankful and excited about the opportunities YouTube brings to the music industry, and hope to continue to work with YouTube in enabling our artists to reach more audiences around the world with their music and to engage and connect with their fans globally.”
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