Google’s YouTube Music has quietly built a massive audience since supplanting Google Play Music nearly six years ago. A recent Android Authority poll with over 7,700 votes lays bare its strengths—and a stubborn gap. More than two-thirds of respondents, 68.3%, call it their main streaming service. Add in those who dip in occasionally, and usage climbs to nearly 80%.
But here’s the rub. Fully 12.4% shell out for YouTube Premium yet skip the music tier bundled inside. Another 8.5% pass on it entirely, free or paid. Andy Walker, the poll’s author, points to his colleague Rita El Khoury’s essay on paying without playing: “I don’t want to use YouTube Music, even though I pay for it.” That piece ignited the survey, drawing sharp pushback in comments. Android Authority notes the numbers echo a July 2025 poll where 54% of 18,000 voters picked YouTube Music over Spotify’s 34%.
Users explain the pull. Reader Leena Meena praises its edge: “I mainly use YT Music because it has all the music YouTube has. For instance, any remix of a song will be harder to find on Spotify than YT Music.” Free-tier fans loop tracks without hassle. Spotify? “A bit of a money chaser,” she adds.
Premium’s Price Squeeze Tests Loyalty
And yet dissent festers. Frank v. gripes about the YouTube tether: “I hate that YouTube Music is so intertwined with YouTube. That’s one of the main reasons I don’t use it. I want a music app that’s just music, so I use Apple Music.” Recent hikes amplify the friction. YouTube Premium jumped to $15.99 monthly for individuals, up from $13.99; family plans hit $26.99, a $4 bump. YouTube Music alone? Now $11.99 individual, $18.99 family. Kron4 reports changes hit billing cycles starting June.
Another Android Authority survey on the hike drew stark responses from subscribers: 60.7% stick around, but 26.4% plan to cancel, 12.8% to downgrade. Fold those together—nearly 40% rethinking amid “streamflation.” Broader data shows paid streaming music now claims 66% of U.S. listening time, up from free tiers, per Edison Research for 2025. YouTube Music hit 125 million paid subs last year, adding 25 million.
On X, sentiments split. Autism Capital touts family plans: “YouTube premium is actually a great deal… $3/mo per person… YouTube Music which is actually as good if not better than Spotify.” Brave Nightly pushes ad-blockers: “Brave blocks ads on YouTube, Spotify… premium experience without paying.” Gengar11 calls Spotify “the Facebook of music,” favoring YouTube’s quality and library. But MORcela regrets: “Me dejé llevar… empecé a pagar YouTube premium disque por la música. Que decision tan pedorra… Spotify es superior.”
Google bundles aggressively. Premium packs ad-free video, background play, downloads—plus full Music access. Standalone Music Premium lags at lower tiers, but why pay extra when Premium covers it? Rita El Khoury lists gripes: spotty availability, weak curation, video-heavy feeds. X user Alex Hillman switched from Spotify: “YouTube Music has gotten really good… I already pay for YT ad-free so I get it included. I don’t miss Spotify one bit.”
Industry watchers see opportunity. CivicScience notes weekly U.S. YouTube music use rose to 61% by 2025, yet Premium interest plateaus. Push Music harder? Edison’s shift to paid listening favors it. But hikes risk backlash. Android Authority readers balked pre-hike: some value no-ads plus Music in cars or lofts; others eye the coffin nail.
PhoneArena flagged another sore spot: lyrics now premium-only after five free songs. PhoneArena users fume. Google tests recaps judging tastes, personalized stations—Premium perks to hook holdouts.
The 12.4%. Paying. Not playing. They expose YouTube Music’s bind: vast catalog from YouTube’s depths draws fans like Leena. Integration repels purists like Frank. Bundles boost uptake—80% touch it somehow. But as prices climb, that sliver grows. Google must convert them, or watch rivals like Spotify claw back ground. Polls say dominance holds. For now.
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