YouTube has achieved a significant milestone with its Music and Premium services, collectively amassing over 100 million users as of January, inclusive of those in free trials. This marks an impressive growth of 20 million members in just over a year, and the number has doubled since September 2021. Remarkably, YouTube sustained this growth even after implementing a $2 per month increase for the Premium service last summer.
Read: FNB discontinues tap-to-pay on Android
While the exact user count for YouTube Music remains uncertain (considering Premium includes access to this service), it is evident that YouTube’s music streaming platform trails behind Spotify, which boasted 220 million Premium members as of September 30. Spotify is poised to unveil its latest membership figures in an upcoming earnings report. Apple, on the other hand, no longer discloses the number of Apple Music subscribers, with the last confirmed figure standing at 60 million subscribers in 2019.
Despite comparisons, YouTube’s Premium service differs substantially from Apple Music and Spotify Premium. YouTube Premium stands as a distinct offering with unique benefits, making it challenging for users to revert to the ad-laden free version of the service after experiencing Premium. The ability to download videos for offline viewing seamlessly and the inclusion of background playback are valuable features exclusive to YouTube Premium. In this context, YouTube Music serves as an additional perk for many members, complementing the broader Premium experience.
