Last year was unquestionably the year of “Despacito,” as the Spanish-language track by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee broke records and won fans all around the world. And it isn’t done with the record-breaking. Continue Reading
YouTube is aware of how many people use its video service as a free way to stream music. According to Lyor Cohen, then company is going to try to counter that trend with a deluge of ads. This is part of an effort to promote YouTube’s new upcoming music subscription product. Continue Reading
Lyor Cohen, YouTube global head of music, spoke at SXSW about the video platform’s previously reported plans to make a new subscription music service. “We know we’re late to the party,” he said. It’s okay.” Continue Reading
YouTube is the most popular social media network for U.S. adults. That’s the latest finding from a Pew Research Center survey, where 73% of respondents said they access the video site online or on their smartphone. Continue Reading
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki spoke about at the Code Media conference, covering several hot-button topics for the video platform. She addressed the controversy around Logan Paul, expansion plans for YouTube Red, and Facebook’s move into video. Continue Reading
Billboard has released its Power 100 list for 2018, a ranking of the most influential leaders in the music business. The list includes several executives from streaming services alongside the stalwarts from major labels, talent management, and concert promotion. Continue Reading
YouTube is now a registration agency for the International Standard Name Identifier. This means that the video platform will request a unique identifier for every creator whose work is used on the service. The move is intended to ensure that the correct individuals are attributed to each distribution. Continue Reading
YouTube has its fair share of critics, especially in the music industry. According to a new report from Bloomberg, it seems that YouTube may be trying to create leverage that will keep musicians from making negative comments about the video platform. The publication said it has learned that YouTube has offered a few musicians hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial backing to produce videos and billboard promotion, with the caveat that these performers won’t say negative things about the company. Continue Reading
YouTube announced it is merging all of that performer’s subscribers into the Official Artist Channel, which will be identified with a music note icon. That could reduce the visibility of Vevo, which is owned by two major music labels, with investment from Alphabet (parent company of YouTube and Google). Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Podcasts are now 25% at Slate. YouTube tightens access to ad program. Programmatic and podcasts at Spotify. Continue Reading
YouTube Red is slated to make an international expansion this year. Chief Business Officer Robert Kyncl told Les Echos that the company has been getting the licensing and distribution deals in place to take the subscription service to more countries. YouTube Red is currently available in Australia, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, and the U.S. Continue Reading
YouTube is making a move to curb posting of videos that might skew the chart performance of songs. This premise, where a repeating loop of a song snippet is tagged in YouTube’s system to look like the full track, came to light around a popular single called “Rockstar” by rapper Post Malone. Continue Reading