{"id":107040,"date":"2026-01-30T13:50:58","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T13:50:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?p=107040"},"modified":"2026-02-10T11:44:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T11:44:50","slug":"music-makes-up-a-third-of-youtube-watch-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/music-makes-up-a-third-of-youtube-watch-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Report reveals music now drives 33% of YouTube watch time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As YouTube becomes a more diverse video platform, music is right at the heart of it.<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A deep dive into YouTube<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A new report from research firm Omdia<\/a> suggests that music now accounts for 33% of all watch time on YouTube. That\u2019s a lot of attention on the world\u2019s biggest video platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Omdia\u2019s estimates, YouTube now hosts 29 billion videos as of December 2025. YouTube has come a long way since its early days. Today, it\u2019s a more diverse platform across professional content, music, news, and podcasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In particular, Shorts are now estimated to represent over 90% of all upload to the platform. That shows the growth of short-form content, which is now a core part of the YouTube experience. For artists, maximizing your short-form content matters more than ever, and you can even get your music onto Shorts\u2019 audio library for free with RouteNote today!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are people watching?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The headline stat for the music industry is that music videos now make up 33% of total YouTube watch time. As MusicAlly<\/a> points out, if this is accurate, it marks notable growth since 2021 where music accounted for 25% of YouTube watch time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, professionally filmed content makes up the largest share of viewing at 46% of total viewing time. News content represents 10% and video podcasts represent 5%, both commanding meaningful and growing attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bigger picture<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For the music industry, Omdia\u2019s estimates have interesting implications. YouTube recently pulled its streaming data<\/a> from Billboard\u2019s industry-leading US charts. The platform argues that Billboard\u2019s modernized rankings still don\u2019t fully reflect how audiences consume music today, particularly when it comes to how ad-supported streams are weighted. Last year, YouTube revealed that over a billion hours of video<\/a> are consumed on the platform each day. If music truly makes up a third of that watch time, it could have a huge impact on US charts moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
YouTube is pulling its streaming data from Billboard charts<\/a><\/blockquote>