YouTube Music Is on Track to Overtake Apple Music in Global Subscribers

YouTube Music is becoming one of the most important challengers in global music streaming. MIDiA Research says the service is on track to overtake Apple Music and Tencent in global subscribers during 2026, after becoming the fastest-growing major global DSP for the second consecutive year in 2025.

Key Takeaways

Global music streaming subscriptions reached 921.6 million in 2025, according to MIDiA Research.
YouTube Music was the fastest-growing global DSP for the second year in a row.
MIDiA says current trends put YouTube Music on course to overtake Apple Music and Tencent in global subscriber numbers during 2026.
Growth in Latin America, Asia Pacific and other Global South markets is central to YouTube Music’s momentum.
For independent artists, YouTube’s combination of music streaming, video discovery and creator culture makes it increasingly difficult to treat the platform as secondary.

YouTube Music streaming platform concept

YouTube Music has become streaming’s dark horse

Spotify remains the global subscription leader, but the race behind it is becoming more dynamic. MIDiA’s 2025 subscriber market-share analysis counted 921.6 million global music streaming subscribers, up 10.1% year over year.

Within that expanding market, YouTube Music stood out. MIDiA described it as the fastest-growing global DSP for the second consecutive year, adding only a few million fewer subscribers than Spotify despite starting from a much smaller base.

The company’s conclusion is significant: if current trends continue, YouTube Music is positioned to move ahead of Apple Music and Tencent in subscriber numbers during 2026.

Why YouTube has an unusual advantage

YouTube Music does not exist in isolation. It sits inside the broader YouTube ecosystem, where billions of users already watch music videos, live performances, lyric videos, Shorts, interviews, tutorials and fan-created content.

That creates a discovery funnel that traditional audio-only streaming platforms cannot reproduce in exactly the same way. A listener can encounter an artist through a Short, watch a live performance, move to a full video and then continue listening through YouTube Music without leaving the wider platform ecosystem.

YouTube Premium also complicates direct comparisons with rival services. MIDiA’s model includes users with standalone YouTube Music subscriptions as well as YouTube Premium subscribers who access the music component of the bundle.

The Global South is driving the next phase of streaming

One of the biggest changes in the streaming market is geographic. MIDiA says Latin America, Asia Pacific and the rest of the world together accounted for more than 70% of global subscriber growth for the fifth consecutive year.

YouTube Music is particularly well positioned in those markets because the wider YouTube platform already has enormous reach. MIDiA notes that YouTube Music has been gaining ground where much of the industry’s future subscriber growth is expected to happen.

Latin America is becoming especially important. Subscriber additions in the region reached a record high in 2025, with Brazil playing a major role. At the same time, growth in parts of Asia Pacific has begun to slow as China matures.

The result is a streaming market that is becoming less centered on North America and Western Europe.

Apple Music is not disappearing

Being overtaken in subscriber count would not mean Apple Music is failing. Subscriber numbers are only one part of the streaming business. Revenue per user, geographic mix, ecosystem value and customer retention all matter.

Apple Music also remains deeply integrated into Apple hardware and services, while its audience can generate different economics from platforms growing fastest in lower-ARPU markets.

The more important point is competitive momentum. YouTube Music is gaining enough subscribers that the traditional hierarchy behind Spotify may change during 2026.

Streaming is becoming multipolar

For years, streaming discussions often reduced the market to Spotify versus Apple Music. The current data suggests that picture is becoming outdated.

YouTube Music is accelerating. Tencent remains powerful in China. Amazon Music benefits from the broader Amazon ecosystem. Regional platforms remain important in specific territories. Meanwhile, services are differentiating through video, social features, audiobooks, AI tools, higher-quality audio and fan products.

Streaming is still a dominant consumption format, but competition inside the format is becoming more diverse.

For independent artists: YouTube should increasingly be treated as both a streaming platform and a discovery platform. Music videos, Shorts, visualizers, live sessions and searchable evergreen content can all feed listeners toward the same artist ecosystem.

What the shift means for artist strategy

An artist who uploads only an official audio file may be leaving much of YouTube’s discovery potential unused. The platform rewards a wider range of formats than most audio streaming services, and each format can serve a different stage of audience development.

Shorts can create first contact. Full videos can deepen attention. Live performances can demonstrate identity. Tutorials, studio clips and behind-the-scenes material can build familiarity. YouTube Music can then capture repeat listening.

This does not mean artists should flood the platform with low-quality content. The advantage comes from connecting formats around the same release and artist identity.

The subscriber race is also a monetization race

Subscriber growth alone is not enough. Streaming companies increasingly need to improve average revenue per user as the market matures. MIDiA notes that monetization began catching up with subscriber growth in 2025, narrowing the gap between subscription expansion and major-label streaming revenue growth.

That is why services are experimenting with price increases, premium tiers, bundles and additional fan products. The next phase of streaming competition will not only be about who has the most users. It will also be about who can generate more value from each relationship.

One billion global subscribers is getting close

At 921.6 million subscribers in 2025, the global paid streaming market is approaching the symbolic one-billion mark. MIDiA says the milestone is now firmly in sight.

But the next hundred million subscribers may look different from the previous hundred million. More growth is coming from emerging and developing markets, where pricing, local catalogs, payment methods and mobile behavior can differ significantly from mature Western markets.

YouTube’s global footprint gives it an important advantage in that transition.

Why this matters beyond platform rankings

A change in subscriber ranking can influence more than investor presentations. It can affect where labels prioritize marketing, where artists invest in content, how distributors build promotional tools and which platform features become industry standards.

If YouTube Music becomes the second-largest subscription service by subscriber count, artists may increasingly think of YouTube not as an optional video channel but as a central part of release strategy.

The broader lesson is that music discovery and music consumption are converging. The platforms best able to connect social behavior, video, search and streaming may have an advantage in the next stage of the market.