Spotify has struggled this year, alienating listeners with paywalls and new AI features, pushing more users to seek alternatives.
While there aren’t a multitude of sites that fulfill the same needs as Spotify, YouTube Music has recently begun to seem like a serious competitor. YouTube has had a history of hosting music. On its main website, users can already create playlists of their favorite songs, whether it be adding music videos or re-uploaded audio versions.
Over time, much of this user-uploaded music was removed due to copyright enforcement by music companies and original artists, leading to a landscape where unofficial uploads became increasingly scarce. The launch of YouTube Music addressed these issues by providing a legitimate, licensed platform for music streaming.
Currently, YouTube Music has over 125 million users globally since March 2025, likely helped by the additional integrated content thanks to the main YouTube website. While Spotify currently has over 600 million monthly users and continues to show growth, YouTube Music is considered the fastest-growing music platform in Q2 2024. Spotify maintains its top spot in the musical platform sector due to its market and financial dominance.
That said, YouTube Music is aiming to compete with and eventually surpass Spotify. In recent weeks, YouTube Music has introduced new features that will help them with their goal, including Taste Match playlist that are akin to spotify blend and eventually allowing its users to leave comments on albums and playlists.
