Apple Music Gains Ground: Dominating Family Plans While YouTube Music Sees Growth & Revenue Soars
The streaming music landscape is constantly shifting, and recent data reveals some compelling trends. Apple Music is solidifying its position, particularly within the lucrative Family plan market. Meanwhile, YouTube Music is experiencing notable subscriber growth, and YouTube as a whole is becoming a major revenue driver for the music industry.Let’s break down what’s happening and what it means for you.
Apple Music’s Family Plan Advantage
According to data from DMN Pro, analyzing insights from publishers, IP administrators, and distributors, Apple Music currently leads the market for Family plans. This is a critical segment, and Apple is performing exceptionally well.
Actually, apple Music boasts twice the number of Family plan subscribers as YouTube Music has total subscribers. This highlights a key difference between the two platforms.
apple Music has always been a paid-only service. This contrasts sharply with YouTube, which relies heavily on free, ad-supported access, fueled by substantial investment from Google. While youtube’s strategy has driven massive reach, converting those free users into paying subscribers has proven challenging.
YouTube Music: Growth Despite the Free Option
Despite the hurdles, YouTube Music is making notable strides.
As of Q3, YouTube Music saw growth of over 13% in the U.S. alone. This outpaces the single-digit growth experienced by both Spotify and Apple Music. Amazon Music, conversely, has seen a decline in subscribers, reflecting a broader plateau in the mature U.S. market.
in May 2025, YouTube Music’s Lyor Cohen announced 125 million subscribers across both YouTube Music and YouTube Premium. However, a breakdown of music-specific subscriptions, or regional data, wasn’t provided. Even so, this figure remains less than half of Spotify’s global subscriber base as of the first half of 2025.
YouTube’s Billion-Dollar Contribution to the Music Industry
Regardless of subscription model, YouTube is injecting significant capital into the music ecosystem. While paid subscribers generate higher revenue per user, YouTube’s massive ad-supported audience translates into substantial overall income.
Specifically, YouTube contributed over $8 billion to the music industry between July 2024 and June 2025. This revenue benefits labels,publishers,performance rights organizations (PROs),production houses,and self-reliant artists.
Cohen emphasized that this payout is a result of a successful combination of ad revenue and subscription income. He views it as a stepping stone toward establishing a sustainable, long-term platform for artists and songwriters worldwide.
Key Takeaways for You:
* Family Plans Matter: Apple Music’s success in this area demonstrates the value of catering to families.
* YouTube is a Force: Even with a free tier, YouTube Music is growing and YouTube is a major financial contributor to the music industry.
* Competition is Fierce: The streaming landscape remains highly competitive, with Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music all vying for your attention and subscription.
* The future is Hybrid: the success of YouTube highlights the potential of a combined ad-supported and subscription model.
This evolving landscape means more choices for you, the listener. Understanding these trends can help you make informed decisions about which streaming service best fits your needs and supports the artists you love.
