YouTube Music has rolled out a game-changing feature that’s reshaping how we measure musical success. The platform’s new Monthly Audience metric tracks unique listeners and viewers across all YouTube formats, and the results are eye-opening.
How the New Metric Works
The Monthly Audience feature updates daily and shows an artist’s total unique listeners and viewers over the past 28 days. This isn’t just music streaming—it counts everyone who interacts with an artist’s content across YouTube, YouTube Music, and even YouTube Kids.
The metric includes fans who watch music videos, YouTube Shorts, collaborations, fan-uploaded content with the artist’s music, and even non-music content from the artist’s channel. This comprehensive approach gives a fuller picture of an artist’s reach than traditional streaming numbers alone.
Hip-Hop Dominates the Top Charts
Among hip-hop artists, the numbers are staggering. Rising star Doechii and rap legend Eminem are tied at the top with 332 million monthly listeners each. Dr. Dre follows closely with 271 million, while Kendrick Lamar sits at 262 million.
The late Coolio maintains a strong presence with 251 million listeners, proving that classic hits have staying power. Other notable figures include Meek Mill and Wiz Khalifa (both at 237 million), Pitbull (184 million), and surprisingly, Drake sits lower on the list at 124 million—the same as Future.
Global Music Powerhouses Lead the Pack
The real surprise comes when looking at global numbers. ‘Brazilian Funk’ artist ATLXS has the most YouTube monthly audience with an incredible 1.09 billion monthly listeners. Their viral hit “Passo Bem Solto” became a phenomenon on YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. Another artist, Ariis, follows with 830 million listeners, driven by their viral track “Luna Bala.”
Indian Artists Show Massive Numbers
India’s music scene demonstrates remarkable reach on the platform. Playback singer Shreya Ghoshal leads with 580 million monthly listeners, followed by Udit Narayan (524 million) and Arijit Singh (471 million). Jubin Nautiyal and Sunidhi Chauhan round out the top five with 391 million and 382 million respectively.
Western Pop Stars Hold Strong
Among Western artists, Lady Gaga claims the crown with 835 million monthly listeners globally. Bruno Mars follows closely at 819 million, boosted by both recent viral hits and his timeless catalog.
Ed Sheeran maintains 551 million listeners, while other major stars show varying numbers: Taylor Swift (290 million), Adele (336 million), and The Weeknd (262 million).
K-Pop’s Global Impact
Korean pop continues its worldwide domination. BLACKPINK leads K-pop artists with 312 million monthly listeners, while ROSÉ shows impressive solo numbers at 492 million.
BTS, despite their recent hiatus, maintains 146 million listeners. Other notable K-pop figures include BLACKPINK’s JENNIE (190 million) and TWICE (104 million).
Even Kids’ Content Makes the List
Interestingly, CoComelon, the popular children’s YouTube channel, appears on these charts with 156 million monthly listeners—the same as late rapper XXXTENTACION.
What This Means for the Music Industry
YouTube’s Monthly Audience metric represents a shift toward measuring total cultural impact rather than just traditional music consumption. By including Shorts, fan videos, and cross-platform content, it captures how music actually spreads in the digital age.
The numbers reveal interesting patterns: viral content creators like ATLXS can compete with established superstars, regional music scenes like Brazil and India show massive global reach, and hip-hop continues to dominate English-language charts.
This new metric will likely influence how record labels, artists, and industry professionals measure success. It’s no longer just about album sales or streaming numbers—it’s about total audience engagement across all formats and platforms.
