Coachella 2013 - Live on YouTube

Every April, tens of thousands of the world’s most avid music fans flock to Southern California to kick off music festival season at Coachella. This year, you don’t even need a ticket to be a part of the show. 

For the third year in a row, you can catch the entire first weekend live from Indio on Coachella's official YouTube channel. Starting this Friday at 3:30 p.m. PT, YouTube's three-channel feed, which is presented by T-Mobile, will live stream performances from five stages (including, for the first time, the Sahara Tent). You'll be able to catch artists' interviews with and live shows from more than 60 bands, including the xx, Passion Pit, Vampire Weekend and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.



So whether you can't stand the desert heat or are just suffering from massive FOMO, be sure to check out the entire Coachella schedule here on YouTube.

Chelsea Maughan, Communications Manager, recently watched "The Postal Service 'Nothing Better.'"

YouTube Just Got Hotter: Views Added to Billboard’s Charts

Billboard and Nielsen have shaped the core measures of success for entertainers around the world. These institutions created the standard we all look to when assessing the popularity of an artist, an album or that song you just can’t stop playing. Each week, their rankings are eagerly awaited by budding musicians, bona fide rock stars and music executives alike.

Of course, the music industry has changed dramatically in recent years. We’ve seen artists become stars through channels that simply didn’t exist a decade or two ago. From Gangnam Style and grandpa style to the Alabama Shakes and the Harlem Shake, YouTube has become a place where artists connect with new audiences, and music fans are finding songs, bands and genres they never knew they loved.

That’s why we’re partnering with Billboard and Nielsen to include our U.S. data into their “Hot” charts--the Hot 100 List, Hot Country Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, R&B Songs, Rap Songs, Hot Latin Songs, Hot Rock Songs and Dance/Electronic Songs. Meaning, all official videos on YouTube, including user-generated clips that utilize authorized audio, will now factor into how a song’s popularity is determined.

This announcement marks a big step in accurately reflecting how music lovers are finding their new favorite songs. And it builds upon our efforts to share this kind of data with key industry analytical tools like Next Big Sound and BigChampagne, which also help artists succeed both on and offline. Most importantly, we hope this news will excite our users, who have helped us discover some of the biggest stars and songs of the past seven years.

AJ Frank, New Business Development, recently watched “Harlem Shake (Matt and Kim Edition).”

A-Pop Channel Brings the Best Pop From Asia to You

Over the past seven years, YouTube has become a global stage where music lovers can follow their top bands and find new favorite artists. After all, it wasn't so long ago that K-Pop exploded with PSY's "Gangnam Style" becoming the first YouTube video to hit 1 billion views. Similar music movements have continued to cross borders with legendary Taiwanese rock band Mayday live streaming a concert from the YouTube headquarters and Japanese singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu starring in a new channel about Tokyo's ultra-cute Harajuku fashion neighborhood.

Keeping up with the latest in Asian pop on YouTube will be even easier after today's official launch of A-Pop. The channel will be a hub for live-streaming concerts from Asian artists, directly hosting shows in progress or otherwise displaying a calendar of upcoming events. You can also find the newest videos from Asian pop artists and a playlist of the week's Top 20. There are also individual tabs for K-Pop, C-Pop or J-Pop if you want to narrow down to one of the three.

The A-Pop Channel already has a few big events planned. A-Pop Star Week kicks off on March 8 and fans will be able to connect with top A-Pop stars using Google+ Hangouts. Here's the lineup so far:

March 8 SHINee (K-Pop)
March 9 Wang Leehom (C-Pop)
March 10 Super Junior (K-Pop)
March 11 Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (J-Pop)
March 12 flumpool (J-Pop)
March 13 2PM (K-Pop)
March 14 Mayday (C-Pop)

You can tune in to Hangouts from A-Pop and ask questions of the stars by submitting questions on Google+ via a special hashtag. Visit www.google.com/+jpop, www.google.com/+kpop, or www.google.com/+cpop for more information on how to participate. The stars will be hand-picking five lucky participants for each Hangout, so be sure to submit a creative question!



There are a lot of exciting things yet to come from the Asian pop explosion, so make sure you subscribe to the A-Pop channel to get the latest news and updates.

Sun Lee, YouTube Asia-Pacific Marketing Manager, recently watched "Super Junior-M - Break Down."

Calling all Beliebers! Ask Justin a question on YouTube Presents

You’ve seen him grow up on camera, transforming from a talented little kid posting videos on YouTube into the star of his own documentary and a global pop phenomenon. Now Justin Bieber is ready to come back to where it all began for an exclusive Q&A with YouTube Presents, and he wants to answer your questions.



What have you always wanted to know about the Biebs? Starting today, and running until midnight ET on June 20, you have the chance to ask Justin Bieber all those burning questions. Head over to youtube.com/kidrauhl and pour your heart out—Justin will hear you! And be ready to tune in to youtube.com/presents on June 21 at 7pm ET to watch the interview -- with none other than Jimmy Fallon -- live.

YouTube Presents gives music fans an opportunity to get more into the music and artists they love with live performances and interviews at venues around the world. Check out recent performances and concerts with artists including Taylor Swift, The Shins, Ziggy Marley, Lenny Kravitz and more on youtube.com/presents.

And remember -- never say never!

Sarah Bardeen, music community manager, recently watched “Justin Bieber’s Backstage Interview at Capital FM’s Summertime Ball 2012.”

Sing it! YouTube opens the door for more songwriters, publishers and content creators

On YouTube, musical artists and acts from the established to the experimental can share their talent, find new fans, and sing their hearts out. And we’re committed to making sure their works can reach the widest audience, and that the singers and songwriters will continue to be appropriately compensated for these works that we all love so much.

Today we’re happy to share that we’ve reached publishing deals with BMG Rights Management, Christian Copyright Solutions, ABKCO Music, Inc., Songs Music Publishing, Words & Music, Copyright Administration, Music Services, Reservoir Media Management, and Songs of Virtual - which means more of the great music you all love on YouTube, and more opportunities for artists to make money. These publishers represent works from artists like Adele, Cee Lo Green, Foo Fighters, The Rolling Stones, Sam Cooke, and many others.

Our Content ID system allows music publishers to identify the works of songwriters whether the compositions appear in an original sound recording or in a cover version, using information provided to us by the publishers. This means that more songwriters will be able to share in more of the revenue that the YouTube community’s creativity yields. Content ID is used today by 3,000+ partners including every major US music publisher, record label, network broadcaster, and movie studio.

These new deals, along with the licenses from the many publishers who have opted in to last year’s deal with the NMPA / Harry Fox Agency, will allow us to monetize nearly all of the user generated videos with music on YouTube. Why is this important? When these publishers allow YouTube to run ads alongside user generated videos that incorporate their compositions, then the publishers, the songwriters they represent, and the record labels and artists using their compositions, all make money - so they can reinvest in their careers and keep making great music, and the music industry can thrive.

Elizabeth Moody, head of strategic partner development, YouTube Music, recently watched "Of Monsters and Men, Little Talks, Live from Music Hall of Williamsburg, 4/5/12."

Vivid LIVE from Sydney Opera House puts you in the FRONTROW

Some of the biggest musicians from around the world will gather over the coming week as part of Vivid LIVE, the annual music event held at Sydney Opera House as part of Vivid Sydney, the city’s annual festival of light, music and ideas.

For the first time, audiences around the globe will be able to watch select performances live on YouTube, and share the experience through a custom camera application called FRONTROW.

During the livestream, not only can you sit back and enjoy the tunes of some renowned musicians, you can also participate right from your desktop! In a world first, you can take photos of the event through the FRONTROW camera app: zoom in and out to change your view, take photos during the live stream, apply filters and immediately share on your social networks.



Oh, and what will you be watching? The line-up of performances includes:

• We kicked off today with German design collective URBANSCREEN lighting the sails of Sydney Opera House
• Tuesday, May 29, from 6:00pm AEST / 1:00am PST: Grammy award-winning English singer Imogen Heap, in an intimate recital with a spectacular Sydney Harbour backdrop
• Thursday, May 31, from 9:50pm AEST / 4:50am PST: Our very own The Temper Trap, debuting their new album in the Concert Hall, with footage from the event available on YouTube following the performance
• Saturday, June 2, from 9:00pm AEST / 4:00am PST: Brazilian electronica mastermind Amon Tobin in an audiovisual spectacle taking projection mapping and electronic performance to new heights

For the full schedule of events and to experience Vivid LIVE on YouTube, visit youtube.com/sohfestival.

Ernesto Soriano, YouTube Australia, recently watched “Seekae 3.”

YouTube Presents K-Pop stars in Mountain View, California

Update: Tickets for the concert have all been reserved, but you can watch the concert live on the YouTube Presents channel.

Last December, we added Korean pop style K-Pop to our genres on the Music page, making it easier for the growing number of K-Pop fans in and out of Korea to find the latest videos from the top Korean artists and music labels. Now we’re bringing K-Pop to you live on YouTube!

We’ve teamed up with Korean broadcaster MBC to host a concert in the U.S. on Monday, May 21 featuring some of the top K-Pop acts. The concert, YouTube Presents MBC K-Pop Concert, will be held at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA and will start at 7pm PT. If you want to attend, you can reserve free tickets from this website. You can also tune into the livestream on the YouTube Presents channel during the concert on May 21.

The line-up includes several star-studded groups such as Girls’ Generation, Wonder Girls, TVXQ, Super Junior, f(x), BEAST, KARA, MBLAQ, and Sistar. This is the first time we’ve featured musical artists from Korea on YouTube Presents.

We hope to see K-Pop fans in the U.S. at Shoreline, and we hope the rest of you will tune in wherever you are. For those who are totally new to the genre, we recommend that you check out a few episodes of Simon and Martina’s YouTube show K-Pop Music Mondays.

Seon-Jeong (Sun) Lee, YouTube marketing manager for Asia-Pacific, recently watched “Girls’ Generation - The Boys.”

See what happens when Gary Oldman directs Jack White’s live show

The American Express Unstaged series, in partnership with Vevo and YouTube, matches a musical act with a visionary director to create a unique online experience. Previous match-ups have included Duran Duran directed by David Lynch, Arcade Fire directed by Terry Gilliam, and My Morning Jacket directed by Todd Haynes.

Tonight at 6pm PT, Gary Oldman will direct the live stream of a very special performance from Jack White. At a time when White is embarking on a brand new solo project, with his album Blunderbuss performing well both critically and commercially, we're excited to see what he brings to the stage of New York City's Webster Hall!

Watch the show unfold on Jack White's official channel.

Tim Partridge, music marketing manager, recently watched "Metronomy - The Bay."

Coachella 2012 - Live on YouTube

One of the best line-ups in music? Three days of live concerts?  In the desert?  Say yes to Coachella 2012, coming to you all weekend on YouTube! 

Since 2001, the the Coachella Music and Arts festival has brought thousands of fans to southern California to kick off the music festival season in style.  For the second year, YouTube will be live streaming the action, with a three day broadcast of the festival, presented by State Farm.

We’re not sure if it’s the promise of a weekend in Palm Springs, but Coachella always manages to pull together one the most impressive and diverse festival line-ups. YouTube will be streaming more than 60 artists over the weekend, including The Black Keys, Swedish House Mafia, Miike Snow, Andrew Bird, Florence + The Machine, and one of this year’s biggest breakthrough acts, Gotye. 

It all begins at 3:50pm PT this Friday, and you can check Coachella’s YouTube Channel for the latest schedule.




Tim Partridge, music marketing manager, recently watched "tUnE-yArDs - ‘My Country’."

Experience live music that matches your energy with The Switch

Audiophiles can choose a concert that matches their energy on March 28 at 6pm PT by visiting The Switch, an interactive music experience on YouTube, powered by 5 Gum.

During this intimate music experience, fans can enjoy two simultaneous live-streaming performances, curated by tastemakers La Blogotheque. Givers will bring their energetic sounds, while Theophilus London delivers relaxing grooves. At The Switch, you can pick the music that suits your mood.



The Switch experience continues with specially curated playlists that highlight La Blogotheque’s signature Take Away Shows, presented with a visual twist. These performances from stars like Vampire Weekend and emerging artists like My Brightest Diamond are another way to lay back or liven up, and see music in a new light. Check out playlists selected by the artists or build one of your own.

Catch new sounds on YouTube and see where your moods take you on The Switch.

Charles Jang, YouTube marketing programs manager, recently watched "[AZIATIX] "Go" - FULL MV."

Selamat datang, YouTube Malaysia!

Today in Kuala Lumpur we announced the opening of a brand new localized domain for Malaysia at www.youtube.com.my. This is our 42nd country with an official local site.

While YouTube has already been available in Malaysia’s most widely spoken languages — Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese, and English — having a Malaysia-specific homepage can now deliver the most relevant videos for Malaysians as well as make it easier to highlight great content from our local partners such as KRU Studios. If you’re in Malaysia, the site will automatically detect your location and send you to the Malaysia page. Anyone else interested in Malaysian content but outside the country can just as easily get to the homepage by just selecting “Malaysia” in the Location section at the bottom of the page.

 At the YouTube launch event, we had amazing performances from some of Malaysia’s top musicians, such as silky voiced singer Yuna, pop princess and Flo Rida collaborator Mizz Nina, hip-hopper Joe Flizzow, and warm and fuzzy electro-poppers Tenderfist. You can see them here plus some top K-Pop stars like 2NE1, Miss A, Beast, Jang Keun Suk, Sistar and Infinite, sending some congrats to YouTube Malaysia.

 

In the last few years, Malaysians have shown a gift for creating video hits. You may have seen the guy who proposed to his girlfriend using Internet memes. Then there’s singer and ukelele player Zee Avi, who posted a few videos on YouTube in 2007 and ended up signing to Jack Johnson’s Brushfire label. Meanwhile school teacher Cikgu Shida has mimed her way across tons of popular songs to become a sudden Internet star in her homeland.

With YouTube now open in Malaysia, we are excited to see more and more Malaysians join the YouTube community. And hopefully this will also mean the world can more easily discover the amazing culture and talent that exists in Malaysia today.

Adam Smith, director of product management, YouTube Asia-Pacific, recently watched "Tenderfist - Everything's Gone"

Get More Into: Australia’s Laneway Festival

Since we missed Music Tuesday this week, we wanted to take you back to Australia for another dose of the local music scene. Enjoy!

From big-time dream-pop to big-haired rock & roll, there are plenty of reasons to love festival season in the Southern hemisphere. Following the pumped up kicks, rockabilly licks, and modern-day lullabies that brought sold out crowds across Australia for Big Day Out, we spent the day hanging at St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival in Sydney. What began as a packed side-alley show in Melbourne has quickly developed into a national touring event and a favourite summer festival.

Between sets in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Auckland, and Singapore, here’s what some of Laneway’s biggest names had to say about touring down under, the Laneway vibe, and their favorite inspirational acts on YouTube:

• The Horrors get into psychadelic pop and out-of-this world sounds of Connan Mockasin
• Multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer and vocalist Jonti talks big beats and big sounds of Flying Lotus
• Hear what outstanding female vocalist have inspired The Drums to come together as a band
• Recorded in their same hometown, Twin Shadows’ At My Heels brings laughs & tears to electronic pop duo Chairlift
• M83, known the world over for reverb effects and loud instrumentals, has his first encounter with the electronic music of Jean Michel Jarre

The Laneway crew’s just completed their tour but you can enjoy your own little taste of this iconic Australian festival right here on YouTube.

Ernesto Soriano III, YouTube Australia, recently watched “Toro y Moi ‘Still Sound’.”

Get More Into: Big Day Out and the Australian music scene

While those in the Northern hemisphere hit the slopes (Shaun White, anyone?) and anxiously await the first signs of spring, the Australian summer is all about the outdoors. Music lovers are flocking to the land down under where summer festival season is alive and rocking, and even more are coming to YouTube to catch all the sights and sounds.

During the Australian Recording Industry Association awards, we asked a few of your favorite Aussie musicians what YouTube videos get them pumped up. We rang in the new year with a live streamed sustainable arts & music festival. And here, in the heart of summer 2012, we asked three of your favourite musicians in town for Big Day Out how they get into music in YouTube

The Vaccines: all from different backgrounds & tastes and less than a year old as a band, see what live gigs helped inspire the boys from West London to record their first album in just under a month late last year:



The Living End: with six albums, each one a milestone, watch legendary Aussie rockers get into their favorite 80s anthems, from big wigs to big gigs:



Foster The People: From relative obscurity to one of the most talked about bands on the globe (to the tune of more than 63 million views on YouTube!) watch what mischievious musicians have inspired these pumped-up kicks through sold-out shows all across Australia:



So if you’re on a ski lift, by a fire, or just waiting around till the snow thaws...we hope you can enjoy a taste of the Aussie music summer, right here on YouTube.

Ernesto Soriano III, YouTube Australia, recently watched “The Vaccines: Wetsuit instagram video.”

Madonna premieres “Give Me All Your Luvin” on YouTube

Game day can’t come soon enough? Get in the spirit today with the official premiere of Madonna’s “Give Me All Your Luvin” featuring Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. on YouTube. You can find the video on the Madonna YouTube Channel, along with teasers for her halftime show performance.



We’ll also have her video up on the YouTube Ad Blitz Channel pre-game on Sunday, where you’ll be able to view and vote for your favorite commercials.

Love the song and can’t wait for the album? You can pre-order it now, and stay tuned to her Google+ profile for her latest news and behind-the-scenes photos leading up to the big game.

Craig McFadden, YouTube Partner Development, recently watched “‘W.E.’ - Official Trailer.”

Get in the DJ booth with Tiësto

Ever been among the thousands of screaming fans rocking out to Tiësto and wanted to see what life is like from the other side of the DJ booth? Check out “In the Booth,” a new series on YouTube that documents the world-traveling, beat-making life of Tiësto, aka Tijs Michiel Verwest. The first episode is available today:



If you add the Channel to your homepage guide you’ll regularly get exclusive commentary and personal insight into Tiësto’s life and work, venues around the world, festival life on and off-stage, and more clubbing than you could ever fit into just one night.

New episodes kickoff today on Tiësto’s YouTube Channel, with more coming every week. And remember you can get into even more great electronic and other music on YouTube Music, with new tunes every Tuesday.

Adam Relis, Content Partnerships manager, recently watched “Mission: Impossible - Theme (Tiësto Remix).”

K-Pop - the latest genre in YouTube music

The Korean music genre K-Pop had a big global moment in 2011.

The October SM Town Live showcase in New York — featuring SHINEE, Girls’ Generation, and TVXQ — sold out Madison Square Garden. Wonder Girls, who previously opened for the Jonas Brothers’ 2009 North American tour, have seen millions of views from around the world in just a few weeks for their latest single “Be My Baby.” American producers are also moving in on the K-Pop action. Michael Jackson veteran Teddy Riley produced Girls’ Generation’s new track “The Boys.” and will.i.am has been at work with 2NE1 on new material. And when YouTube livestreamed the Mnet Asian Music Awards at the end of November, more than 90 percent of the views were from outside of Korea.

Since K-Pop has broken so big, we thought it was a good time to give this unique set of artists their own genre on YouTube.com/music. If you select “K-Pop” from the menu, you’ll get the latest K-Pop videos and a list of upcoming concerts near you.



We’ll hopefully be adding more and more Korean music labels and artists in the future, so check back on the K-Pop section of the Music page to see the latest singles from your favorite artists and some songs from people you may not have known.

Sun Lee, YouTube Marketing Manager for Asia-Pacific, who recently watched "2NE1 - Lonely + I Am The Best [MAMA 2011 in Singapore]"

Tune in to the pre-show for the 2011 American Music Awards

The American Music Awards are tonight starting at 8:00pm PT on ABC, but you don’t have to wait that long to tune in. Starting at 2pm PT, you can watch, Coca-Cola Red Carpet Live @ the 2011 AMAs, here on YouTube with hosts Lance Bass, Estelle, Sarah Hyland, Mario, Audrina Patridge, Josh Sussman, and YouTube’s own, Michael Buckley.

The online pre-show will feature 3 hours of live red carpet coverage, and give you the chance through YouTube Moderator to ask questions of the musicians and stars on youtube.com/awardshownetwork. During AMA week and immediately after the show, you can come back to YouTube to watch behind-the-scenes segments, producer blogs and artist interviews.



For the first time in 40 years of AMA history, the show will include a category for “New Media Honorees.” This category recognizes the impact online video has had on the music industry and how fans engage with the artists. There's lots of YouTube love, with the inaugural awards given to DeStorm, Christina Grimmie, and Karmin. Tune in to see them strut the red carpet!

Liuba Petkova, Marketing Programs Manager, recently watched, “Michael Will Be Buckin’ It Up @ The AMAs.”

New YouTube features for music artists

Update: Added info on new feature for indie labels.

With 800 million people per month coming to YouTube, you have a pretty big stage to share your music, and now we’re adding features to also make YouTube your box office, merchandise table and music store.

The Merch Store
We’re launching a feature called the Merch Store that will allow YouTube partners to offer fans merchandise directly on your channel. Fans will be able to buy artists’ merchandise, digital downloads, concert tickets and even unique experiences like meetups. These features are made possible through affiliates like Topspin for merchandise, concert tickets and experiences; Songkick for concerts; and iTunes and Amazon for music downloads. We’ll be rolling out the Merch Store to music partners globally over the coming weeks, and here's an early look:

Online Indie Label Signups
We’ve also made a few changes to make it easier for indie labels to become YouTube partners and share revenue when their music is played, even in user generated content. The signup form is available here.

If you’d like to learn more, we’re hosting a panel on Thursday October 20 @ Noon ET at the Mercury Lounge in NYC, sharing stories with artists who’ve found success on YouTube. The lineup includes Dru Ha and Buckshot from Duck Down Music, Julia Nunes, Karmin, Portugal. the Man and Ryan Leslie, and an RSVP is available at the YouTube Creator blog.

Whether you’re the main event, the opener or jamming from your living room, we want to give you the chance to find an audience and make music your career on YouTube.

Christian Weitenberner, Senior Technical Account Manager, recently watched “Bust Your Knee Caps - Pomplamoose” and then “Bon Iver - Calgary.”

A visit from Taylor Swift

Did you know Taylor Swift wanted to be a stockbroker when she was growing up? Or that she can be found reading John Adams' biography or tuning in to CSI marathons when she's not performing?

Earlier today, Taylor Swift answered questions from fans around the world during her YouTube Presents interview. Questions were submitted through Taylor Swift’s channel and the most popular were asked in today’s Q&A, including whether she sings her own songs in the shower, what beauty means in her eyes, and the funniest thing a fan has done to get her attention (it involves a chicken suit).



The four-time Grammy Award winner sat down with us and gave a candid look inside her life as one of the youngest and most successful pop stars in the world.

Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager, recently watched "Lion Cubs hugs."

Music Tuesday: Fresh faces, Burning Man’s musical side and more

Summer’s drawing to a close, but there’s still time to discover a new summer anthem. Perhaps it’s a tune from Cults, the indie-popsters Noisey profiled last week on youtube.com/music. Or perhaps you’ll find your summer song in one of this week’s featured playlists.



Fresh Faces: August

Every month, we feature a handful of newly-signed music partners on YouTube’s homepage. This month, the pickings were so rich we couldn’t narrow it down to just four, so we chose six artists to feature, and they’re an inspiring group that spans the gamut, from a sixteen-year-old emcee from New Jersey who’s sworn off cursing to J Dilla protege and former Slum Village member Elzhi. Add a few jazzy singer-songwriters into the mix and there’s something for everyone.







Burning Man Survival Kit

The annual art festival takes place in Nevada Black Rock Desert this week. And while the event’s official focus is art -- kinetic, sculptural and frequently fire-breathing -- it’s also a premier gathering spot for fans of electronic music. Soundsystems on the “playa” vie with each other, putting on all-night raves that host cutting-edge deejays as well as some of the business’ biggest names. We’ve assembled a playlist of some sounds you might hear if you were there.







James Blake and Bon Iver: Fall Creek Boys Choir

Dubstep’s errant child and indie’s golden son have teamed up for an EP that releases later this year. They’ve dropped the first song from it on YouTube, and it’s a mysterious and spacious experiment in sound...just as we expected.







Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Pigeon John ‘The Bomb.’”