YouTube remains a tricky proposition for the music industry.
The video platform offers artists a key way of interacting with a fan base but at the same time, difficulties remain in turning this engagement into revenue.
At this year’s Great Escape, a whole strand of the conference was devoted to the platform and video content, asking questions around whether labels, publishers, artists and songwriters are really getting the most from these channels.
The panel, featuring Laika Network’s Rebecca Lammers (RL), Claire Mas (CM) from the Communion Music Group and BandSquare’s Chloe Julien, were on hand to give their advice on how you can make it work harder. You can read their words of wisdom below…
The video platform offers artists a key way of interacting with a fan base but at the same time, difficulties remain in turning this engagement into revenue.
At this year’s Great Escape, a whole strand of the conference was devoted to the platform and video content, asking questions around whether labels, publishers, artists and songwriters are really getting the most from these channels.
The panel, featuring Laika Network’s Rebecca Lammers (RL), Claire Mas (CM) from the Communion Music Group and BandSquare’s Chloe Julien, were on hand to give their advice on how you can make it work harder. You can read their words of wisdom below…
Remember to maximise your monetisation
RL - Be careful when you’re uploading your content to YouTube. If you don’t tick the appropriate boxes when adding a video, then you risk missing out on potential revenue.
The YouTube Partner Programme can help you make money
RL - Opt into the YouTube Partner Programme. You can request ads served on videos, then YouTube shares the revenue with you. Remember you can only monetise vids you upload.
YouTube is first point of contact for many fans
CM - Video is the new king of content. Now that smartphones and connections have caught up, every single platform wants video. YouTube is possibly the first contact potential fans have with you as an artist. So getting it right here is really important.
Make sure you stay regular
RL - Music artists are guilty of not following marketing best practice. You need to remember that the regular uploading of content is key. You need to be uploading on a consistent basis to keep your following interested.
Although it’s different for every artist
CM - The music industry isn’t as good as it should be at putting out content. We put out a vid, then we disappear for two years. At the same time, I don’t think every single artist needs to upload content regularly. It totally depends on each artist and what sort of personality they have.
Be polite
RL - Many artists don’t reply to the comments of fans. This kind of engagement is key to growing your fanbase. If you’re struggling, then look to successful YouTube stars for examples.
You can make money from YouTube - but not straight away
RL - Don’t expect to make millions from day one. You need to reach half a million views or have more than 20,000 regular subscribers to see more than pocket change.
Is video worth investing in?
CM – Monetisation is big thing to think about. You need to decide on how much the pay-out is and is it worth investing all this time into creating all this content if it’s so low.
Remember the first rules of YouTube SEO
CM - The Creator Playbook for Brands outlines these in more detail but get your video title and video description correct. That helps. Thumbnails can also increase click-ability.
Use Facebook as a content funnel
CM - YouTube and Facebook are now competing. But Facebook is giving us good reasons to upload videos to Facebook, mainly because of reach. The non-paid for reach of videos is two-ten times more people on Facebook seeing your posts. But don’t upload the entire video. I create a 20-second teaser video to Facebook and use that as a funnel to get people to YouTube.
Tailor your content for each platform
CM - With Facebook you should make a tour announcement video specifically for the platform. Don’t just put the album artwork or the tour poster on there. Use a teaser video as this will reach a lot more people.
It’s also useful to remember that 85 percent of Facebook videos are watched without sound. Being a music video the sound is important. On YouTube they are more likely to enter the portal with sound.
Watch this space with Facebook
CM – Is Facebook going to be more than a funnel? It’s just released Right Manager, which is reported to be their version of YouTube’s Content ID. Now you can upload videos and if there’s a match on Facebook you can either get them to take it down or claim it. This could mean monetisation is just around the corner.
Read all of our news, features and interviews from this year’s Great Escape.
