Why Musicians Are Choosing YouTube Over Traditional Distributors
The music industry is transitioning to a new distribution model called “Digital First”. Those days are gone when record labels had control over artists and their music creation. Now, artists don’t need tons of money to distribute the music using physical CDs. In 2023, the US itself saw CDs & Vinyl contributed only 11% to the music industry, whereas streaming accounted for 84%.
The dynamics have changed; YouTube Music alone receives billions of views and has become the primary platform for discovering new talent. It has become the best way to promote your music and directly reach the intended audience. In fact, artists can just upload their music and rely on YouTube earnings.
The Music Industry Landscape
For decades, record labels controlled how music was produced, distributed, and discovered. They dictated:
- Which music is best for the radio or CDs
- The marketing budgets for the artist and their music
- The placement of music
- Discovery of artists (Who could enter the global market)
Since the internet became more widely available, music streamers such as Pandora, SoundCloud, and Napster disrupted the market. Artists entered the global music market. However, this streaming ecosystem is still dominated by labels. Artists didn’t receive a fair share of the revenue from their work.
Currently, the dominant apps are Apple Music and Spotify. Although artists are gaining exposure, the payout system remains controversial. Snoop Dogg highlighted the lack of transparency in the earnings model during a podcast.
“They just sent me some shit from Spotify, where I got a billion streams, right? My publisher hit me. I said, ‘Break that down, how much money is that?’ That shit wasn't even $45,000.”
“Can someone explain to me how you can get a billion streams and not get a million dollars? That shit don't make sense to me.”
To address the debate, Spotify publicly clarified that for a billion streams, the song earns between $ 3 million and $ 5 million. The money is distributed among labels, publishers, co-writers, etc., according to royalties. Snoop maths is a personal take-home money. This explains that even top artists are getting the short end of the bread.
Why YouTube Has Become the Preferred Platform for Artists?
Artists are choosing YouTube because of its low barrier to entering the music scene. You can just create your own music, work independently, and upload it to YouTube, and earn from it. However, with over 500 hours of video uploaded every minute, it gets challenging for artists to achieve visibility. They will get lost in the noise. That’s why artists need to focus on targeted promotion, and services like music video promotion step in to help artists cut through the noise and reach their audience.
Here’s why YouTube Matters:
Visual Creativity
YouTube is an audio-visual platform that enhances artists' music with compelling music videos. They can upload their fan interactions, concert moments, BTS, song lyrics, etc. Making a community hub for their fans.
Global Reach
As discussed, YouTube is a dominant platform to make an artist a global sensation. Artists such as Luis Fonsi and PSY created viral music and garnered billions of YouTube views, earning a massive following and face value.
Fan Interaction
The music industry is changing, and so is the fan-artist interaction. YouTube helps fans communicate via comments, live chat, fan interactions, community posts, etc. Forming a close relationship with the artist.
Algorithmic Push
The metrics, such as likes, comments, shares, watch time, returning viewers, etc, indicate to YouTube that music is of high quality and people are engaging with it. It gets suggested to more listeners, increasing the visibility of music and artists.
Monetization
Artists earn through the YouTube Partner Program, channel memberships, Super Chats, YouTube Merchandise Shopping, Brand Deals, affiliates, etc. The ad revenue is split between YouTube and channel owners (45%:55%).
Apart from YouTube ad revenue, there are multiple ways for artists to earn a primary income from the platform when releasing their work.
YouTube Advertising is a Game Changer for Music Artists
Being on YouTube is the best way to promote your music, and the reach is also very widespread and organic. But the competition is also brutal. You need to approach the platform with a strategy to reach your fans.
That’s when YouTube advertising comes in. You can promote your music videos and reach the right audience who appreciates your music. The targeted YouTube ad campaigns can connect the music to niche listeners, distant listeners, and place your music where it needs to be heard.
As a YouTube Ad agency, we specialize in connecting artists to their rightful listeners. This gives them more exposure and revenue opportunities. On YouTube, you will upload your talent, but we will get you discovered.
Why is YouTube Chosen Over Traditional Distribution?
The traditional music deals involve a lot of paperwork, hidden agendas, control, contracts, opaque revenue sharing, and complex contracts. Contrary to this, YouTube provides:
- Ownership of content
- Flexibility to release music and promote music
- Experimentation with video production
- Analytics to music performance
- Multiple revenue sources
- The distribution of earnings is more for artists
That’s why YouTube is the best way to promote your music and earn for your talent.
Conclusion
It's no wonder that YouTube is the future of the music industry. The record labels, top artists, distributors, etc. Everyone needs YouTube to be in business, and that’s why uploading music on YouTube is the best way to promote your music.
The artist gains control of the music rights and earns well from the performance. The better the music performs, the more you earn. However, you might get lost in the competition if you don’t have a strategy. Choose YouTube advertising platforms to reach the target audience easily and bring strong engagement.
