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Google's paid music services have surpassed 15 million subscribers, according to two people familiar with the numbers, a milestone for a company that has struggled to expand its subscription media business.
The figure includes two-service subscribers – YouTube Music and Google Play Music, an older service built into YouTube Music – said people who asked not to be identified because the information was not public. The number also includes some customers who are still in the promotional trial phase.
Google, which is part of Alphabet Inc., is still far from the market leaders: Spotify has more than 100 million subscribers, while Apple has more than 50 million. But the progress made is a good sign for an advertising-funded company that has rarely forced its customers to pay for its services.
YouTube declined to comment on the total number of customers for its paid music service, but indicated that the number of subscribers to YouTube Music and Premium had increased by 60% between March 2018 and March of this year. Premium subscribers pay for the music service as well as for access to the normal YouTube site without advertising.
YouTube has been synonymous with free since its inception in 2005, attracting over 2 billion users by offering an endless buffet of videos covering music, comedy and free learning. But the site has been trying for years to convert some of these customers into paying subscribers.
YouTube Music is his last and most successful effort in terms of total number of customers. YouTube TV, a live television service offering dozens of channels for a monthly subscription, has more than one million subscribers.
YouTube Music offers a library of millions of songs, playlists, and videos. The company has added 5 million subscribers to music since YouTube launched its new service last May, said the people.
The growth of streaming platforms has helped the music industry to recover after a 15-year decline. YouTube has a complex story with the industry, which accuses the site of flooding consumers with free music videos.
Lyor Cohen, a former label director who is now the global head of music on YouTube, has been trying to improve the company's relationship with the industry. He pushed new video initiatives to attract more customers, including short video series featuring actors such as Billie Eilish, and promotional campaigns funded for new albums. Last month, YouTube hosted live streams from the Coachella Music Festival and featured a new Taylor Swift video.
-Bloomberg News
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