YouTube has paid musicians $8 billion

YouTube has announced that it has paid out more than $8 billion to the music industry over the past 12 months. The company’s Global Head of Music, Lyor Cohen, said that this figure proves that the platform’s two main revenue sources — advertising and subscriptions — are working successfully. According to him, this result is not final, but rather an indicator of continuous progress towards building a long-term global platform for musicians, composers and publishers. YouTube currently has more than 125 million Music and Premium subscribers (including trial periods) and more than 2 billion active users who watch music videos every month. As the platform grows, the opportunities for creators to build careers on a global scale and build a loyal audience are also expanding.