• by Colin Kirkland , 10 hours ago

Over the past year, YouTube paid out $8 billion to artists, songwriters, labels and publishers in the global music industry, the company announced in a recent blog post, naming ads and subscriptions as notable contributors.

YouTube’s music industry payout, which took place between July 2024 and July 2025, shows a $2 billion yearly increase since 2022, when the video and music streaming social platform reported $6 billion in music industry payouts. 

Between 2020 and 2021, the company reported $4 billion in music industry payouts, marking a steady increase over the years. 

Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s global head of music, said in a statement that YouTube’s ads and subscriptions – its “twin engine” revenue model – are responsible for helping boost its monetary contributions to the music industry. 

The company currently has 125 million subscribers across its music streaming and premium offerings, including users on trials, with over 2 billion logged-in viewers who watch music videos each month on the platform.

In announcing its music industry contributions, YouTube hopes to attract more emerging artists to its platform who will create original content and build audiences, ultimately attracting more labels and brands to invest in the YouTube ecosystem.