YouTube Music has been around for quite some time, initially released in 2015, with most considering it far behind competitors like Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, and more. But what a difference a year makes, as it is now being reported that the platform, with YouTube Premium, has added 30 million paid subscribers since last year, bringing its total paid subscriber count to over 80 million.

While this is certainly incredible news for YouTube, despite its massive growth, it does still sit behind juggernauts like Apple Music and Spotify in music. Despite this, the company has worked closely with the music industry, finding a balance that keeps all parties happy with the help of Lyor Cohen, who previously worked in the music industry. With his help as YouTube music chief, the company became a "partner" with music labels, not just a company that was approaching the labels to get signed contracts. The relationship has been fruitful, with the report stating that YouTube has paid the music industry $6 billion from July 2021 to June 2022.

Relying on its advertising and subscription business, the company has pushed even further, investing more heavily in its creators, especially those on its YouTube Shorts platform. Back in September, YouTube announced that it would allow creators on Shorts to join the YouTube Partner Program. This would allow creators to monetize their content and earn money from ad revenue. The ads would run between videos in the Shorts Feed, with creators keeping 45 percent of the revenue generated. In addition, YouTube sorted out music licensing agreements on the platform, allowing creators to use popular copyrighted songs in their videos.

In addition, YouTube also lowered the threshold for new creators, creating a new tier in its YouTube Partner Program that would grant access to perks like Super Thanks, Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Channel Memberships. Those hoping to monetize their Shorts content will be able to do so starting in 2023. It will require having at least 1,000 subscribers and ten million views over 90 days. Of course, one big benefit that YouTube has over other platforms is that it has the largest video platform in the world, reaching hundreds of millions of people each day. So this could be the start of a new beginning.


Source: Variety