Sharjah24 - AFP: YouTube's music streaming service reported Thursday it now has more than 50 million subscribers, saying it is growing quickly as it tries to close the gap with market-leader Spotify.

YouTube Music trails rivals Spotify, Amazon and Apple but has been gaining ground, according to market tracker Midia Research. YouTube is a subsidiary of Google.

"Google’s YouTube Music has been the standout story of the music subscriber market for the last couple of years, resonating both in many emerging markets and with younger audiences across the globe," Midia analyst Mark Mulligan said in a post.

"The early signs are that YouTube Music is becoming to Gen Z what Spotify was to Millennials half a decade ago."