YouTube Music and Premium have surpassed 150 million subscribers worldwide, including trials, according to Alphabet’s third-quarter earnings report. That is an increase of 25 million since March 2025.
Over the same period, Spotify added 38 million subscribers, reaching 306 million in the third quarter of 2026. YouTube Music’s gains were partly supported by performance in the United States.
Google and Alphabet chief financial officer Anat Ashkenazi said the results were “driven by strong growth in YouTube subscriptions, particularly in YouTube Music and Premium, and strong demand for AI plans in Google One.”
YouTube ad revenue rose 9.2% year over year to $11.2 billion in the third quarter. “Living room accounted for over one-third of total YouTube ads revenues,” Google chief business officer Philipp Schindler said during the earnings call.
The platforms are also competing in video podcasts. Spotify lowered its creator monetization thresholds at the start of 2026, has expanded its focus on music videos and is investing in video podcast series. YouTube receives 20 million video uploads daily and is reportedly considering an audiobook offering, an area where Spotify says it is seeing material growth. YouTube is reportedly considering an audiobook offering, an area where Spotify says it is seeing material growth.
Alphabet reported third-quarter revenue of $128 billion, up 25% year over year, while net income declined to roughly $26 billion. Its shares were down almost 10% in after-hours trading at about $290 when the report was written.
