YouTube Music 10th Anniversary: New Features & Spotify Competition

YouTube Music Celebrates a Decade with Feature Enhancements

On Thursday, YouTube is marking the 10-year anniversary of its YouTube Music application by introducing new functionalities designed to enhance its competitiveness with platforms like Spotify. A key addition is the implementation of “Taste Match” playlists.

These playlists function by aggregating the musical preferences of multiple users who share common interests, mirroring the functionality of Spotify Blend. Furthermore, the application will now proactively inform users about forthcoming releases, merchandise offerings, and concert schedules.

New Features and Social Integration

YouTube is collaborating with Bandsintown to facilitate concert discovery directly within the YouTube platform, while users are watching videos and Shorts. These additions aim to bridge the gap between YouTube Music and Spotify in certain areas.

The introduction of badges and commenting capabilities will also extend the social networking aspects of YouTube to its music streaming service. This fosters a more interactive experience for listeners.

Expanding Music Library and User-Generated Content

YouTube also revealed updated statistics regarding its music catalog. Currently, YouTube Music boasts a collection exceeding 300 million tracks.

• This includes studio recordings, live performances, remixes, and cover versions.

For comparison, Spotify advertises a catalog of over 100 million tracks. Additionally, YouTube reports over 4 billion music-focused playlists created by its users, with 1.8 billion of these being publicly accessible.

Taste Match Playlists: A Collaborative Listening Experience

The newly launched Taste Match playlists allow YouTube Music subscribers to consolidate their musical tastes into a single, dynamically updated playlist.

Tracks featured within these playlists are selected based on the collective preferences of all participants. This creates a shared and evolving listening experience.

Enhanced Social Features and Artist Recognition

Users can now directly comment on albums and playlists within YouTube Music, promoting a more social listening environment. Loyalty badges, such as “First to Watch” and “Top Listener,” will be awarded to dedicated fans.

Artists and bands can also track milestones related to their music video views, including achievements at 100,000, 1 million, and 1 billion views.

Subscriber Growth and Future Development

YouTube’s music service has experienced significant growth, increasing from 100 million subscribers in February 2024 to over 125 million subscribers as of March 2025.

This figure encompasses both YouTube Music and YouTube Premium subscribers, including those utilizing trial periods. Continued evolution and user feedback are central to the platform’s ongoing development.

Note: The 100-125 million subscriber count refers specifically to paying users.