YouTube paid $8 billion to the music industry in 12 months

YouTube has paid more than $8 billion to the music industry in the 12 months between July 2024 and July 2025, the company was announced on Thursday.

“Today’s $8 billion payout is a testament to the fact that the twin engine of advertising and subscriptions is firing on all cylinders,” YouTube’s Global Head of Music Lyor Cohen said in a statement. “This number is not an endpoint; it represents meaningful, sustained progress on our journey to build a long-term home for every artist, songwriter and publisher on the global stage.”

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

The milestone marks a new record for the platform, as YouTube’s annual music industry payout increased by $2 billion from 2022, when the company said it contributed $6 billion in music industry revenue between July 2021 and June 2022. A year earlier, in 2021, YouTube announced that it had paid $4 billion in the industry in 12 months.

Thursday’s announcement comes as Spotify announced earlier this year that it was paying $10 billion to the music industry in 2024. The company delivered $9 billion in 2023. It’s worth noting that the artists themselves don’t get all the money — it also goes to companies, publishers, songwriters and others.

YouTube says it sees momentum from its two-engine revenue model, noting it has more than 125 million Music and Premium subscribers worldwide, including users in trials. The company also said it has two billion connected viewers watching music videos every month.

“As the platform’s global footprint continues to expand, so do artists and songwriters to build long-lasting music careers and forever fans on YouTube,” the company wrote in a blog post.

YouTube is available in more than 100 countries and supports 80 languages.

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