The YouTube Red Diamond Play Button represents the ultimate achievement in content creation—a milestone so extraordinary that only 14 channels worldwide have earned this prestigious award as of June 2025. This isn’t just another subscriber milestone; it’s a testament to years of dedication, consistent quality content, and global influence that few creators will ever achieve.

YouTube partnered with renowned French crystal brand Baccarat to create this exclusive award, making it not just a recognition of achievement but a work of art. The Red Diamond Play Button signifies membership in an elite club of content creators who have fundamentally shaped the platform and influenced millions of viewers worldwide.

Understanding the 100 Million Subscriber Milestone

Reaching 100 million subscribers isn’t simply about uploading videos consistently—it requires building a global audience, maintaining exceptional content quality, and sustaining viewer engagement over extended periods. To put this in perspective, over 1,000 channels have reached the 10 million subscriber Diamond Play Button level, but less than 2% of those have continued to the Red Diamond tier.

The journey from Diamond to Red Diamond typically takes years of strategic content development, brand partnerships, and international audience expansion. This astronomical growth rate separates casual successful creators from true YouTube legends.

Complete List of All 14 Red Diamond Play Button Recipients (2025)

As verified through multiple sources, these are the exclusive holders of YouTube’s Red Diamond Play Button:

Music & Entertainment Companies:

1. T-Series – Indian music label and production company (first to receive alongside PewDiePie)
2. SET India – Sony Entertainment Television India
3. Zee Music Company – Indian music label that became the second music company globally to receive the Red Diamond in June 2025

Children’s Content Creators: 4. Cocomelon – Children’s educational content 5. Kids Diana Show – Children’s entertainment 6. Like Nastya – Kids lifestyle and entertainment 7. Vlad and Niki – Children’s entertainment channel

Individual Creators: 8. PewDiePie – Gaming and commentary creator, first individual to reach 100 million 9. MrBeast – Philanthropy and challenge content creator

Other Entertainment: 10. WWE – Professional wrestling entertainment 11. Goldmines – Indian entertainment channel 12. Stokes Twins – Prank and challenge creators 13. Sony SAB – Indian entertainment channel 14. Kimbho – Entertainment content

The Baccarat Crystal Creation Process

The Red Diamond Play Button features a dark red Baccarat crystal made of gold, barium oxide, and sand, encased in a distinctive red briefcase with the YouTube logo. The manufacturing process showcases exceptional craftsmanship, with each crystal individually crafted at Baccarat’s facilities in France.

The crystal centerpiece isn’t actually traditional glass but a special Baccarat crystal that can only be produced using specific techniques perfected over centuries. This luxurious material choice reflects the extraordinary nature of the 100 million subscriber achievement.

Strict Eligibility Requirements Beyond Subscriber Count

Reaching 100 million subscribers alone doesn’t guarantee receiving the Red Diamond Play Button. YouTube enforces rigorous eligibility criteria:

Channel Activity Requirements: Your channel must remain active with at least one video uploaded within the previous six months. Inactive channels, regardless of subscriber count, won’t receive recognition.

Community Guidelines Compliance: Channels must have no current Community Guidelines violations and cannot have received any violations within the past 365 days. This ensures only channels maintaining YouTube’s standards receive awards.

Content Authenticity Standards: All content must be original and authentic. Channels featuring primarily copied, reposted, or spam content are automatically disqualified, regardless of subscriber numbers.

Terms of Service Adherence: Complete compliance with YouTube’s Terms of Service is mandatory. Any violations can result in award denial even after reaching the subscriber milestone.

Account Standing: The channel cannot be associated with terminated or suspended accounts. YouTube reviews the entire channel history before awarding recognition.

Design Specifications and Physical Characteristics

The Red Diamond Play Button is made of silver-plated metal inset with a large piece of dark red crystal in the play button triangle shape. The award is notably larger than the standard Diamond Play Button, emphasizing its premium status.

Unlike earlier custom awards that varied by creator, the Red Diamond maintains consistent design elements across all recipients, though each comes with personalized documentation and channel-specific details. The accompanying red briefcase distinguishes it from the black Diamond Play Button case.

Historical Context and Award Evolution

YouTube announced the Red Diamond Creator Award through Twitter on September 6, 2019, with a behind-the-scenes video showing Baccarat workers forging the red triangular crystal. The announcement came as both T-Series and PewDiePie approached the unprecedented 100 million subscriber mark.

Prior to the Red Diamond, YouTube’s highest standard award was the Diamond Play Button at 10 million subscribers. The Custom Play Button existed for 50 million subscribers but varied significantly between recipients and has since been discontinued as a standard award tier.

Beyond Red Diamond – New Milestone Awards

Following the Red Diamond’s success, YouTube has introduced additional ultra-exclusive awards for even higher milestones:

200 Million Subscribers – “Tigers Eye” Award: Features a yellow center-piece and has been dubbed the Amber Award, with only T-Series and MrBeast eligible as of August 2025.

300 Million Subscribers – “Malachite” Award: Sports a green center-piece following the same design pattern as the Red Diamond.

400 Million Subscribers – “Lapis Lazuli” Award: Features a blue center-piece, currently exclusive to MrBeast who achieved this milestone in 2025.

These awards demonstrate YouTube’s commitment to recognizing creators who continue pushing boundaries beyond even the Red Diamond tier.

Complete YouTube Creator Awards Hierarchy

Understanding the full award structure helps contextualize the Red Diamond’s exclusivity:

Silver Play Button – 100,000 Subscribers: The entry-level recognition, with over 300,000 recipients worldwide. Made primarily of nickel with a sleek silver design.

Gold Play Button – 1 Million Subscribers: Built in brass and plated in real gold, representing consistency and dedication in content creation.

Diamond Play Button – 10 Million Subscribers: Features a diamond-shaped play button made in transparent glass, awarded to over 1,000 channels.

Red Diamond Play Button – 100 Million Subscribers: The ultimate standard award tier, reserved for the platform’s most influential creators.

Why So Few Channels Achieve Red Diamond Status

The extreme rarity of Red Diamond recipients stems from multiple challenging factors:

Global Audience Requirements: Building 100 million subscribers requires transcending language barriers, cultural boundaries, and geographic limitations. Most successful channels plateau at regional or national levels.

Sustained Growth Challenges: Maintaining viewer interest and algorithmic favor over the years needed to reach this milestone proves nearly impossible for most creators. Content fatigue, changing trends, and platform algorithm updates constantly threaten growth trajectories.

Competition Intensity: With over 500 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, standing out sufficiently to attract 100 million subscribers requires exceptional differentiation and consistent excellence.

Content Consistency Demands: Years of regular uploads, quality maintenance, and audience engagement are mandatory. Even single controversies or quality dips can permanently stall channel growth.

Strategic Pathways to Growing Toward Red Diamond

While reaching 100 million subscribers remains extraordinarily difficult, certain strategies significantly improve growth potential:

Niche Dominance with Broad Appeal: Successful Red Diamond channels typically dominate specific content categories while maintaining accessibility to diverse audiences. Children’s content naturally achieves this through universal appeal and parental sharing.

Multi-Platform Presence: Building audiences across social media platforms drives YouTube discovery. Successful creators leverage Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter to funnel audiences to their YouTube channels.

Consistent Upload Schedules: Algorithmic favorability requires predictable content delivery. Most Red Diamond recipients maintained rigorous upload schedules throughout their growth phases.

Collaboration Strategies: Partnering with other popular creators exposes channels to new audiences. MrBeast’s collaborative approach significantly accelerated his subscriber growth.

Production Quality Investment: Professional editing, sound design, and visual presentation increasingly separate successful channels from mediocre competitors. Investing in production quality yields measurable returns.

Content Categories Most Likely to Reach Red Diamond

Analyzing current Red Diamond recipients reveals patterns in successful content types:

Children’s Entertainment: Four of the 14 channels focus on children’s content, reflecting this category’s viral potential and parental sharing behaviors.

Music and Entertainment: Music labels dominate the list with three channels, benefiting from catalog content and multiple artist followings.

Challenge and Philanthropy Content: MrBeast pioneered this category, proving that ambitious, high-budget challenge content attracts massive audiences.

Professional Entertainment: Established entertainment brands like WWE leverage existing fan bases to achieve YouTube success.

The Review Process and Award Delivery Timeline

Once channels reach 100 million subscribers, YouTube initiates a comprehensive review process:

Automated Initial Screening: YouTube’s systems automatically flag channels approaching milestone thresholds, triggering preliminary eligibility checks.

Manual Channel Review: YouTube staff manually review channel content, history, and compliance records. This process can take several weeks depending on channel complexity.

Eligibility Notification: Eligible channels receive official notification through their Creator Studio dashboard and email, typically within 4-6 weeks of reaching the milestone.

Award Production: Each Red Diamond Play Button is individually crafted at Baccarat’s facilities, requiring several weeks for production.

Delivery and Documentation: Awards arrive in distinctive red briefcases with personalized letters signed by YouTube’s CEO, currently Neal Mohan.

Famous Red Diamond Play Button Stories

Several notable incidents have entered YouTube lore surrounding these prestigious awards:

PewDiePie became the first individual YouTuber to receive the Red Diamond Play Button and infamously the first to break his when the Baccarat crystal fell out during a video. The incident sparked discussions about award durability and proper display methods.

PewDiePie later discarded his award’s red briefcase, which was eventually sold on eBay and purchased by YouTuber JackSucksAtLife for $1,500 USD. JackSucksAtLife later reunited the briefcase with the actual play button in a popular video.

One Red Diamond Play Button is permanently displayed at the Musée Baccarat in Paris, showcasing the award’s artistic and cultural significance beyond YouTube recognition.

Comparing Red Diamond to Other YouTube Honors

The Red Diamond Play Button exists within YouTube’s broader recognition ecosystem:

YouTube Streamy Awards: These annual awards recognize content quality rather than subscriber counts, celebrating creativity and innovation across categories.

YouTube NextUp Program: Designed for emerging creators, this program offers development opportunities rather than recognition for existing success.

Partner Program Benefits: Monetization and partner program status provide financial rewards but don’t offer the prestige of physical awards.

The Red Diamond stands alone as the ultimate quantitative achievement recognition, while other programs celebrate qualitative contributions and emerging talent.

International Recognition and Cultural Impact

Red Diamond recipients gain recognition far beyond YouTube’s platform:

Media Coverage: Mainstream media outlets typically cover Red Diamond achievements, extending creator visibility to non-YouTube audiences.

Brand Partnership Opportunities: The Red Diamond signals to brands that creators command truly massive audiences, leading to premium sponsorship deals.

Cultural Influence: Recipients often influence broader cultural conversations, with their content shaping trends, language, and behaviors across demographics.

Legacy Building: The Red Diamond cements creators’ places in internet history, ensuring their contributions are remembered long-term.

Common Misconceptions About Red Diamond Eligibility

Several myths surround the Red Diamond Play Button that deserve clarification:

Myth: It’s Automatically Awarded: Reality: All Creator Awards require YouTube discretion and eligibility verification beyond simple subscriber counts.

Myth: Purchased Subscribers Count: Reality: YouTube’s algorithms detect artificial subscriber inflation, and such channels are immediately disqualified from all awards.

Myth: Only Individual Creators Qualify: Reality: Companies, brands, and collaborative channels are equally eligible if they meet all requirements.

Myth: The Crystal is Real Diamond: Reality: Despite the name, the centerpiece is Baccarat crystal, not actual diamond, though still extremely valuable.

Future of YouTube Creator Awards

YouTube continues evolving its recognition programs to reflect platform growth:

Potential New Tiers: As channels like MrBeast and T-Series continue growing, YouTube may introduce additional milestone awards beyond the current highest tiers.

Award Redesigns: YouTube introduced lighter-sized Creator Awards starting in August 2024, making awards approximately 30% smaller while maintaining quality.

Digital Recognition: YouTube increasingly emphasizes digital badges and on-platform recognition alongside physical awards, appealing to younger creators.

Sustainability Considerations: Future awards may incorporate sustainable materials and production methods, reflecting broader environmental concerns.

For comprehensive information about YouTube’s Creator Awards program, visit the official YouTube Creator Awards FAQ.

Conclusion: The Ultimate Symbol of YouTube Success

The YouTube Red Diamond Play Button represents more than subscriber counts—it symbolizes years of dedication, consistent quality, and genuine connection with global audiences. With only 14 recipients worldwide, this award places holders among the most influential digital creators in human history.

While reaching 100 million subscribers remains an extraordinary challenge, understanding the requirements, strategies, and dedication necessary provides aspiring creators with actionable knowledge. Whether you’re pursuing your first Silver Play Button or dreaming of Red Diamond glory, the fundamental principles remain consistent: create valuable content, engage authentically with audiences, and maintain unwavering commitment to excellence.

The Red Diamond doesn’t just recognize past achievements—it challenges creators to continue innovating, inspiring, and entertaining millions worldwide. For those willing to dedicate themselves fully to their craft, the Red Diamond represents the ultimate goal in content creation.

For additional insights about growing your YouTube channel, check out Social Media Examiner’s YouTube Growth Strategies.