Music Is YouTube’s Most Popular Content
Music videos are the single biggest draw for YouTube users, attracting 40 percent of the site’s visitors in July, according to a new report by ComScore.
With content from Universal, Sony and EMI artists, the Vevo channel is the most popular on the Google-owned site, attracting 38 percent of all YouTube users. The second post popular channel in July was Warner Music, which accounted for 20 percent of all viewers.
Music videos on these channels are accompanied by advertising, which in turn pays licensing fees to rights holders. But elsewhere on YouTube, much content is not licensed. This often includes user-generated videos, ranging from cover songs to slideshows set to music. An agreement announced yesterday (8/17) should pave the way for copyright owners to share in YouTube’s advertising revenue for previously unlicensed content.
YouTube and the National Music Publishers Association entered into the agreement, ending litigation that had been going on since 2007. Under the terms, the Harry Fox Administration will handle licensing agreements for publishers whose music is being used on YouTube.
