YouTube has announced that in the 12-month period between July 2024 and June 2025, it paid out over US$8 billion to the music industry — covering artists, songwriters, labels and publishers. (TechCrunch)
Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s Global Head of Music, described the milestone as evidence that the platform’s “twin engine of ads and subscriptions is firing on all cylinders.” “This number is not an endpoint; it represents meaningful, sustained progress in our journey to build a long-term home for every artist, songwriter, and publisher on the global stage,” he said. (blog.youtube)
YouTube says this payout marks a US$2 billion increase compared to its previous disclosed figure of US$6 billion in the 12 months ending June 2022. (Music Business Worldwide)
The company highlighted key metrics behind the growth:
More than 125 million Music and Premium subscribers globally, including trials. (blog.youtube)
Over 2 billion logged-in users in a month who watch music videos on YouTube. (blog.youtube)
A business model combining ad-supported free tiers and paid subscriptions.
Why it matters:
For the music industry: This level of payout signals the continued shift of revenue toward digital video platforms and underscores YouTube’s increasing role as a major revenue channel for music rights-holders.
For artists & creators: While the headline figure is large, payouts are shared among multiple rights-holders (labels, publishers, songwriters) and don’t guarantee equal distribution for individual artists. Still, the growth trajectory may improve access and earning potential.
For the streaming economy: The scale of YouTube’s payment broadens the conversation about value attribution across formats (video, audio, UGC) and the importance of diversified revenue streams in the music business.
For global markets: With YouTube operating in more than 100 countries and supporting 80 languages, the payout underscores the global reach of music consumption and monetisation, highlighting opportunities for artists beyond major markets.
Challenges & considerations:
While US$8 billion is a considerable sum, critics point out that the split across rights-holders means many artists (especially independents) may still receive modest sums.
The figure includes revenue from ads, subscriptions, and user-generated content (UGC) claims, but YouTube does not break down how much reaches creators versus intermediaries.
Comparatively, other services continue to be large pay-out sources — for example, Spotify reported US$10 billion paid out in 2024. (Music Business Worldwide)
The platform faces ongoing questions around transparency, per-stream rates, and the “value gap” between dominant platforms and smaller creators.
