YouTube paid the music industry $8 billion in 12 months

YouTube paid more than $8 billion to the music industry over the 12-month period from July 2024 to July 2025, the company announced Thursday.

“Today’s $8 billion payout is evidence of the fact that our twin engines of advertising and subscriptions are firing on all cylinders,” Liar Cohen, YouTube’s global head of music, said in a statement. “This number is not a goal; it represents meaningful and sustained progress on our journey to create a long-term home for all artists, songwriters and publishers on the world stage.”

Cohen first announced the milestone during a speech at Billboard Latin Music Week on Wednesday.

This milestone marks a new record for the platform as YouTube’s annual payments to the music industry have increased by $2 billion since 2022, when it reported contributing $6 billion in revenue to the music industry from July 2021 to June 2022. A year earlier, in 2021, YouTube announced it paid out $4 billion to the industry in 12 months.

Thursday’s announcement comes after Spotify announced earlier this year that it would pay $10 billion to the music industry in 2024. The company paid $9 billion in 2023. It’s worth noting that the artists themselves don’t receive the full amount, but labels, publishers, songwriters, etc. are also paid.

YouTube notes that it has more than 125 million Music and Premium subscribers worldwide, including users on trial, and says it’s gaining momentum from its twin revenue model. The company also said it has 2 billion logged-in viewers who watch music videos every month.

“As the platform’s global footprint continues to expand, the potential for artists and songwriters to build long-lasting music careers and everlasting fans on YouTube also increases,” the company said in a blog post.

YouTube is available in over 100 countries and supports 80 languages.

The company announced at its “Made on YouTube” event last month that it has paid out more than $100 billion to creators, artists, and media companies over the past four years.