BY J. CLARA CHAN | HollywoodReporter.Com

Troy Warren for CNT #Digital

Including users on a free trial, the number represents a 15 million increase in subscribers compared to last October.

YouTube’s free and paid music streaming service has surpassed 50 million subscribers, the video giant’s global head of music Lyor Cohen said on Thursday.

The number represents a roughly 15 million increase in subscribers compared to last October, when Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said YouTube Music and its premium offering had a total of 35 million YouTube Music and YouTube Music Premium subscribers, including those on free trials. (Excluding free trialers, the figure totaled to 30 million, Pichai said.)

A representative for YouTube Music declined to share how many of the 50 million subscribers revealed on Thursday were on free trials. But Cohen said that YouTube Music was “seeing impressive growth” in Korea, India, Japan, Russia and Brazil.

“The unique offerings of YouTube Music and Premium are resonating in established and emerging music markets alike,” Cohen wrote in a blog post. “We’re not taking our foot off the gas anytime soon.”

YouTube first launched YouTube Music in 2018 with a free, ad-supported tier and a premium tier costing $9.99 a month. The service is still far behind music streaming giants Spotify, which said it reached 165 million paying subscribers in its latest earnings report in July. Apple has not revealed updated subscriber numbers for its Apple Music streaming service, but Apple svp Eddy Cue said in 2019 that the streamer had more than 60 million subscribers.

For its part, YouTube has been working to improve its relationships with record labels and the music industry writ large after facing criticism for copyright issues and low royalty rates. The efforts have made some impact, as Thursday’s YouTube Music announcement came with statements of support from executives at major record labels.

“Our trailblazing agreement over three years ago with YouTube established a foundation for their commitment to subscription that led to the launch of YouTube Music. Today, that approach was more than validated as their service passed the 50 million subscriber milestone,” Sir Lucian Grainge, the chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, said. “Congratulations to Susan Wojcicki and her team for this important accomplishment.”

“Congratulations to YouTube on achieving this milestone. YouTube has enabled our artists to reach global audiences and connect with their fans, especially amidst the global pandemic,” added Lenzo Yoon, the CEO of HYBE. “We are thankful and excited about the opportunities YouTube brings to the music industry, and hope to continue to work with YouTube in enabling our artists to reach more audiences around the world with their music and to engage and connect with their fans globally.”