Sophie Blake
YouTube has paid out more than $8 billion to the global music industry between July 2024 and July 2025, according to data shared by the company this week. The figure marks a record high for the platform and highlights continued growth in its dual revenue model combining advertising and subscriptions.
The payout represents a $2 billion increase from 2022, when YouTube reported contributing $6 billion to artists, labels, and publishers between mid-2021 and mid-2022. The announcement was made by Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s Global Head of Music, during Billboard Latin Music Week, where he emphasized the company’s focus on sustaining long-term partnerships with music creators and rightsholders.
In a blog post, YouTube said the $8 billion payout reflects momentum from its “twin-engine” model, which integrates ad revenue with subscriptions. The company reported more than 125 million global Music and Premium subscribers—including trial users—and over two billion logged-in viewers watching music content each month.
While YouTube continues to grow its financial contribution to the music industry, Spotify remains the sector’s largest contributor, disclosing $10 billion in payouts in 2024. Both streaming platforms distribute their revenues across multiple stakeholders, including labels, publishers, and songwriters, rather than directly to artists.
The latest milestone follows YouTube’s broader disclosure in September that it has paid out more than $100 billion to creators, artists, and media companies over the past four years. The platform is now available in more than 100 countries and supports 80 languages, further expanding its reach as a global distribution channel for music and content.
Cohen described the record payout as a step in building “a long-term home for every artist, songwriter, and publisher,” underscoring YouTube’s ongoing efforts to position itself as both a content platform and a key economic driver in the digital music ecosystem.
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