Google’s premium music services continue to lag behind the competition. YouTube Music has significantly fewer subscribers than Apple Music and Spotify (via Wall Street Journal).
Big Growth But Subscriber Numbers Seemingly Stay Low
Apple Music had 50 million subscribers as of December 2018. Industry leader Spotify has twice that amount. Amazon is thought to have 30 million music subscribers. Google has just 16 million subscribers across all its music offerings. This is despite the fact more people stream music on YouTube than any other platform. However, a Google spokesperson did dispute the numbers initially reported. They said that the company’s paid music subscribers grew 60% year-on-year in the 12 months to March 2019.
Google launched the rebranded YouTube music, with premium tier last May. YouTube Music Premium costs $10 a month. The services launched c in the crucial Indian market in March. It will be integrated with Google Play, which costs the same amount, over time.