YouTube now has more than 100 million paying subscribers across YouTube Music and YouTube Premium.
It's a landmark that has been heralded by Universal Music, Warner Music, Kobalt, BMG, Believe, TuneCore, ONErpm, YG Entertainment, T-Series, Beggars, IMPALA and SACEM. I guess that proves that - just because you're enemy number one of the music industry one day - doesn't mean you can't be its best bud another day. News that might be of interest to, I don't know, maybe TikTok?
"In 2015, many doubted a subscription model could thrive on YouTube", the company's Global Head Of Music Lyor Cohen declares in his latest blog post. "They said the market was crowded and our platform was too different. Today – 100 million subscribers later – our distinctiveness is precisely what drives our success and why I still see so much room for growth".
The 100 million stat relates to people who have either signed up to YouTube's standalone music service or its wider premium product. Most people subscribe to YouTube Premium in order to access videos on the main YouTube platform without adverts. However, a YouTube Premium subscription also provides access to YouTube Music, although it's not clear how many subscribers utilise that access. The 100 million also includes those currently on a free trial.
Elsewhere in his new blog post, Cohen lists the ways in which he reckons music on YouTube is distinct from other music streaming services. "YouTube Premium is the only service where social engagement, music streaming and all video formats converge seamlessly – all without interruption", he writes.
“The YouTube Music app has become unrecognisable from its first launch, now seamlessly integrating music streaming with long-form video and short-form video”, he adds. “Connecting these experiences and innovating new ones are critical in making YouTube the best place to be a music fan".
The official announcement of that 100 million subscriber landmark comes with words of praise and adoration from an assortment of music industry bigwigs.
"There are limitless opportunities" if you "start from a foundation of respect for artists and songwriters", muses Universal chief Lucian Grainge.
Warner Music boss - and former YouTube exec - Robert Kyncl chips in, "The fact that YouTube continues to go from strength to strength isn’t just good for them, it’s healthy for the entire music ecosystem".
"Hitting 100 million subscribers and continuing to build on it will further bolster the strong relationship between YouTube and the industry for years to come", reckons Kobalt EVP Global Digital Business Bob Bruderman.
"YouTube Music is one of BMG’s most engaging and effective subscription partners", declares BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld. “Congratulations to YouTube for this fantastic milestone!" says Believe founder Denis Ladegaillerie.
And, in case you wondered, TuneCore CEO Andreea Gleeson and YG Entertainment CEO Min-Suk Yang are both "THRILLED" about the 100 million subscriber achievement.
All of this is a far cry from the statements being put out by the music industry in the mid-2010s. Back then record labels, music publishers and collecting societies felt that YouTube and its owner Google was exploiting the copyright safe harbour to force them into unfair licensing deals that undervalued music and created a 'value gap' in the wider digital music market.
Record industry veteran Cohen was hired in part to build some bridges between YouTube and an increasingly tetchy and vocal music community. Though when he wrote a blog post in his first year at the company, bigging up what YouTube had planned in music, the industry's response was pretty sceptical.
“Subscription revenue is still in its infancy”, Cohen wrote in August 2017, “yet it’s already reaping billions for the music industry. My time at YouTube has me convinced that advertising is another powerful source of growth for the industry. Combined with YouTube’s growing subscription service, they’ve now got two engines taking the industry to a more lucrative place than it’s ever been before”.
Responding, the Recording Industry Association Of America said that Cohen's optimism "is encouraging", but "we’ve heard pretty much the same claims and arguments from YouTube before. So while Lyor’s heart may be in the right place, the numbers and YouTube’s actions tell a different story”. The BPI added "there is little if any growth in advertising revenues from YouTube" and “YouTube isn’t helping to grow our subscriptions business, it’s undermining it".
To be fair, this was before the surge in YouTube's advertising business. And the video site's initial dabblings with premium subscriptions were decidedly lacklustre. And YouTube never seemed to do much to drive users to the music service already operated by Google.
Then YouTube really got behind its premium products and started selling significantly more advertising. This addressed the key concerns of the music industry and, more importantly, resulted in much more cash flowing from YouTube to the labels and publishers.
Can TikTok - now at war with the biggest music rights company in the world - stage a similar turnaround in the next few years? We will see.
