YouTube has paid out more than $8 billion to the music industry over the 12 months between July 2024 and July 2025, the company announced Thursday — marking a record milestone for the platform.
“Today’s $8 billion payout is a testament to the fact that the twin engine of ads and subscriptions is firing on all cylinders,” said Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s Global Head of Music, in a statement. “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.”
Cohen revealed the achievement during a talk at Billboard Latin Music Week on Wednesday.
The announcement underscores YouTube’s growing impact in the music business. The company’s annual payout has risen by $2 billion since 2022, when it reported $6 billion in revenue contributions to the music industry between July 2021 and June 2022. In 2021, YouTube said it paid out $4 billion over a 12-month period.
The news follows Spotify’s disclosure earlier this year that it distributed $10 billion to the music industry in 2024, up from $9 billion in 2023. It’s important to note that these payouts are shared among artists, record labels, publishers, songwriters, and other rights holders — not artists alone.
YouTube attributed its strong performance to its “twin-engine” model of advertising and subscriptions. The company reported having over 125 million Music and Premium subscribers worldwide, including those on free trials, and noted that two billion logged-in users watch music content on the platform each month.
