YouTube announced that it has paid a new record of more than $8 billion to the global music industry in the past 12 months (July 2024 to July 2025). Lyor Cohen, the company’s head of global music, said, “The $8 billion in payments announced today is a testament to the strong operation of the advertising and subscription dual-engine model. This number is not just an end point, but an important progress in our commitment to building a long-term global stage for all artists, songwriters and publishers.”
The milestone was first announced at a Billboard Latin American Music Week event.
YouTube Music Industry annual payments increased by $2 billion compared to 2022. At the time, the company reported that YouTube generated $6 billion in revenue for the music industry from July 2021 to June 2022. Even in 2021, that number is still $4 billion, reflecting the continued upward trend in platform revenue.
It is worth noting that Spotify also announced earlier this year that it would pay US$10 billion to the music industry in 2024, compared with US$9 billion in 2023. It should be pointed out that these funds not only flow to the artists themselves, but also include record companies, publishers, songwriters, etc.
YouTube revealed that the platform's "advertising + subscription" dual-engine business model is accelerating development. Currently, it has 125 million music and premium subscription users (including trial users) worldwide, and 2 billion logged-in users watch music videos every month. The company said in its official blog that as the platform's global reach continues to expand, the opportunities for artists and songwriters to build lasting music careers and loyal fans on YouTube are growing.
It is worth mentioning that just last month YouTube announced at the "Made on YouTube" event that it has paid more than $100 billion to creators, artists and media companies in the past four years.
YouTube currently covers more than 100 countries around the world and supports 80 languages. It is continuing to expand its influence and payment scale in the music industry.
