During YouTube and Google’s parent company Alphabet’s latest earnings call, it was revealed YouTube Music and Premium have over 30m paying subscribers.

YouTube announced 15 million global subscribers (including free trials) in May last year, four years after launching. Now, under 18 months later, this number has doubled. This sharp growth is from a wider global launch and Google Play Music’s upcoming death and transition of account.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai announced the milestone during yesterday’s Q3 earnings call, saying “YouTube subscriptions continue to grow. YouTube now has over 30 million Music and Premium paid subscribers, and over 35 million including those on free trials.”

This result comes from both YouTube Music and YouTube Premium subscriptions, as YouTube Music is bundled with every YouTube Premium account. YouTube Music subscriptions in the US are $9.99 per month, while YouTube Premium is $11.99 per month, giving you access to ad-free and offline YouTube as well.

Spotify still remain king, with 144 million paying subscribers worldwide according to their Q3 results. Spotify started 2020 with 124m paying subscribers, against YouTube Music’s 20 million subscribers at the same time. Showing Spotify has no signs of slowing, with 20 million additional subscribers in nine months against YouTube Music’s 10 million additions.

YouTube Music vs Spotify
Image credit: MBW

YouTube Music sits behind Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music according to Counterpoint.

YouTube Music has been stepping up their features as Google Play Music is set to disappear by the end of the year.