YouTube Music Celebrates 10 Years with Major Fan & Artist Engagement Upgrades

YouTube Music has officially marked its 10th anniversary by announcing a wave of new features designed to enhance engagement for both fans and artists.

The platform is introducing gamified fan badges, such as “First to Watch” and “Top Listener”, rewarding users for their listening habits and loyalty. These badges allow fans to showcase their support while giving artists tools to encourage repeat listens, shares, and participation—especially useful for emerging talent.

A new milestone feature will spotlight music videos nearing view thresholds like 100,000, 1 million, or even 1 billion, motivating fans to help push their favorite artists across these achievements.

Through a partnership with Bandsintown, YouTube Music now integrates live concert updates directly into the app. Users will be notified about local shows, exclusive merchandise drops, event dates, and upcoming releases from their favorite artists.

In addition, playlist and album comments have been rolled out, turning over 4 billion playlists into interactive social hubs for music discussions and shared discoveries.

The platform has also launched Taste Match playlists, refreshing daily to merge the music preferences of multiple users, offering a personalized social listening experience similar to Spotify’s Blend.

With these updates, YouTube Music strengthens its position against Spotify and TikTok, aiming to become a more interactive and socially-driven music hub, while still offering affordable premium features at competitive prices.