Musicians find fame and fortune at YouTube
Google-owned YouTube is proving to be a powerful launch pad for a new generation of music stars
San Francisco:YouTube is proving to be a powerful launch pad for a new generation of Internet-savvy music stars from Psy to Macklemore and beyond.
The Google Inc.-owned video-sharing website has catapulted Psy, Macklemore, Justin Bieber and others onto global stages where they can cash in on digital downloads of songs; packed concerts; online ads, or even sponsored music videos.
“Music has always been a universal language, and YouTube is a perfect platform to build community around the energy that is music," said Vivien Lewit, artists attorney turned YouTube music content partnerships director.
Psy, a 35-year-old South Korean rapper born Park Jae-sang, is reported to have earned more than eight million dollars by capitalizing on the Gangnam Style video at YouTube.
YouTube splits ad revenue from popular music videos with performers but does not disclose figures.
More than two million fans now subscribe to the 26-year-old California artist’s YouTube channels.
Some genres have been revived at YouTube by the likes of Ukrainian-born pianist Valentina Lisitsa or ukulele sensation Jake Shimabukuro, who performs Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen on the small stringed instrument.
The attraction of the YouTube stage has also lured already established music stars.
“The Internet is seen as the new place people listen to their music," Stirling said.
“This is a new way that you can be an original artist, and do all of it without a record label."
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