Google arrived late to the online music streaming scene but has been trying its best to get ahead of its rivals such as Spotify, Apple Music and others. YouTube Music is now the company’s premier online music streaming app is set to eventually replace Google Play Music. Bloomberg reports, citing sources close to the development, that the company’s music subscription service has finally garnered 15 million users, which is said to be a milestone for the company that has struggled to make its mark in this space. Do note that these are global subscriber numbers that include Google Play Music and YouTube Music users.
Additionally, the numbers also include users who are using the services on a promotional basis. As per the report, Spotify is currently in the lead with over 100 million global subscribers, while Apple Inc. is said to have more than 50 million users. While Google still has a lot of catching up to do, the numbers are said to be signs of good growth. While the company has declined to comment on the report, it apparently revealed that YouTube Music and Premium grew 60 percent between March 2018 and March 2019. YouTube Music was announced recently in India but it has been around since May last year and the new service reportedly brought in 5 million subscribers since its announcement.
In India, YouTube Music competes with not only global music streaming players but also homegrown service providers like Airtel, JioSaavn and others. Airtel recently entered the space with its Wynk Tube music and video streaming app on Android that also enables users to switch from audio to video streaming, not unlike YouTube Music. However, the telco said that their app is not inspired by YouTube Music but the feature to toggle between audio and music videos was added after garnering feedback from users.