YouTube has officially topped more than 20 million paid subscribers, Google revealed in a rare report on the service’s revenue stats. The subscribers are a combined amount between YouTube Music Premium and YouTube Premium.
YouTube Music Premium is $9.99 for an ad-free music service. Add $2 and YouTube Premium includes all video content across the service.
Compared to giants like Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon, 20 million subscribers might seem like a pittance. Especially when you consider how many failed attempts Google has had getting its users to pay for additional features on a service that has been free for over a decade. 
Still, the service’s paid subscription platform is showing significant growth.
Reports Variety, “YouTube had $15.15 billion in ad revenue for 2019, up 36% from the year prior, according to Alphabet. For Q4 2019, YouTube advertising sales were $4.72 billion, a 31% year-over-year increase. YouTube’s ad revenue in 2019 was close to double over the prior to years (vs. 2017 ad revenue of $8.15 billion).”
The report was released as “a signal to investors that the company believes it has more runway to boost subscription-service revenue.”
The basic YouTube service will remain free for the foreseeable future, though more paid content will continue to be added to Premium throughout the year.
via Variety
