Official Artist Channels ‘pull it all together’
YouTube wants artists and musicians to build a home on their platform. And they’re telling you how to do it.
YouTube made a concerted effort to reach music creators with PowerPoint presentations at both Music Biz 2018 and Summer NAMM in recent weeks. The company is aware that both music creators and music listeners/viewers are increasingly seeing YouTube as a go-to music platform. In the presentation titled ‘Creating a Home for Music on YouTube,’ the company showed how artists and songwriters can effectively showcase their work and connect and engage with fans.
Benefits of your own Official Artist Channel
The key, according to YouTube’s Nathan Sheppard*, is building and maintaining your Official Artist Channel (OAC). Most music creators probably have some kind of presence on YouTube, perhaps even their own channel. But YouTube believes that your OAC can be your prime marketing tool – if you take advantage of all its possibilities.
Among the benefits of a fully-functioning OAC:
- ‘Direct to Fan’ features: Your OAC unites your full body of work under one banner. Your fans and followers now have a single place to subscribe.
- Attribution: Visitors will see a music note icon next your name (or your OAC name) so they know everything posted here comes officially from you.
- Search optimization: When visitors search for any of your output on YouTube, your OAC shows up at the top.
The parts of an OAC
As Nathan pointed out, an OAC isn’t a new channel. It is a new layout that can be used on any channel that is owned and operated by you the artist, your management or your record label. He showed the ‘parts’ of an OAC:
- Featured video: You can choose which video to show at the top of you OAC, even if it’s not one you uploaded. And you can choose different videos to be seen by new visitors and returning subscribers.
- Artist-curated content: Appears in the top section of your channel. It’s a playlist that you curate of any of your videos on YouTube.
- Official music: An auto-generated section that pulls together your music content from any of your existing YouTube channels. The videos are organized by upload date, popularity and video type.
- Albums: Another auto-generated playlist. It organizes your albums in reverse chronological order by release date.
- Customizable sections: As the name implies, you can add two ‘shelves’ of playlists that you’ve curated.
As with any tool, an OAC is only as successful as the amount of attention you pay to maintaining it. For example, you can build your community’s involvement by messaging subscribers directly to keep them aware of you and what you are doing. This could include upcoming appearances and tour dates which can be geographically targeted to your subscribers. Currently, YouTube partners with TicketMaster and more ticketing partners are being added.
Track your stats with Artist Analytics
Your OAC also allows you (or your artist management team) to carry out Artist Analytics. You can view statistics to see your top songs, the top search terms, cities/areas with the most views, traffic sources and more. YouTube has relaunched their music charts, showing Top Songs, Top Videos, Top Artists and Trending.
YouTube’s Lindsay Rothschild* talked about building playlists on your OAC to keep fans involved. Among the playlists you could build:
- Videos of songs I wrote for other artists
- Songs I co-wrote (include co-writers’ names!)
- Songs I produced
- My live performances
- TV and radio interviews
- My cover versions of songs
You can also showcase videos you did not upload – maybe videos of you performing live uploaded by fans at your shows. Lindsay recommend that you optimize descriptions to help viewers decide what to watch.
An OAC can not only promote your upcoming tour but keep fans involved during the tour. Following the announcement and then regular posts about added dates, you can maintain fan involvement with a video ‘tour diary’ and ‘behind the scenes’ (BTS) videos that make fans feel they are part of the process.
Building your YouTube Community
Community posts at your OAC, using the new YouTube Community feature, help to build fan connection. This allows you to create a two-way communication between you and your fans, For example, this is where you create a series of progressive posts leading up to the drop of a new single. Using YouTube’s Mobile Live feature, you can take viewers behind the scenes in real time, maybe during part of your recording session.
Margaret Hart* discussed using your OAC when planning a record release.
Pre-release:
- Set up a release schedule on a calendar to keep you on track as you approach release date.
- Set a realistic lead time and create a ‘countdown’ to the release date.
- Update your channel banner to focus on the upcoming release.
- Create a ‘sizzle’ trailer to create buzz about the release.
- Develop ‘tent pole’ moments.
- Post to Community to let fans know what’s coming.
- Don’t be over-ambitious. Ask yourself ‘What is realistically sustainable through the release process?’
During release:
- Think outside the box! Examples: you ‘busking’ the new song on a street corner; a BTS video; a ‘concept’ piece about the song.
- Live stream a performance of the song.
- Use your schedule to post videos over a pre-determined time period, such as an acoustic performance, followed by the official music video, the BTS video, a lyric video, an interview with you talking about the song or album, a mobile live video, etc.
After release:
- Post ‘thank you’ videos, thanking fans for support.
- If fans post their cover versions of your song, consider including those too.
- Invite fans to submit ideas for future songs.
- Keep momentum going by letting fans know ‘there’s more to come.’
Be consistent. Be realistic.
YouTube’s Stephen Bryan* summed up the presentation. He emphasized the key to success with your OAC: Be consistent! Make a plan and be realistic about what you can stick to and can handle effectively. He recommended taking advantage of the tutorials offered by YouTube such as the introduction to using Community posts and the links below that video.
It is important to be realistic about what YouTube and an OAC can do for you. If you are looking for a reliable source of income from your music, YouTube probably isn’t for you. Some people can make a reasonable amount of money, usually from ads that appear on the screen when visitors click on your video. You receive a revenue split with YouTube. Of course, you have to have a sizable audience before you would even attract any company wanting to advertise to your viewers.
When you have built that sizable audience, you can opt in to the YouTube Partner Program. Once you are approved, you begin to receive payment for any videos you’ve chosen to monetize. In addition to revenue from ads, you can make money when your sound recording is used in someone else’s video and is identified by YouTube’s Content I.D. system. But only major stars receive major income this way. You can find two ‘creator academy’ videos about monetizing your OAC here and here.
OAC as a marketing tool
My advice: Don’t think of YouTube as a revenue stream. Think of it as a marketing tool. YouTube is one of the best ways to create awareness of you and your music. You are letting people hear your music and telling them where to buy it. You are talking about your upcoming shows and making it easy for fans to buy tickets to come out and see you perform. You are involving them in your creative process. When they feel part of that process, they become your most zealous fans. They can become unpaid ‘evangelists’ for your music, spreading the word and creating new fans.
Don’t just post videos to YouTube. Bring it all together and build your loyal fan base with your OAC!
Find a guide to managing your OAC here and a brief introduction to OACs here. More about the basics of OACs here.
YouTube’s ‘Creating a Home for Music on YouTube’ workshop leaders during Music Biz 2018 and Summer NAMM:
- Nathan Sheppard, Manager of Music Label Partnerships
- Lindsay Rothschild, Songwriter & Publisher Relations Lead
- Mahlet Seyoum, Global Music Strategist & Product Specialist
- Margaret Hart, Manager of Artist & Label Relations
- Stephen Bryan, Head of Label Relations
Preshias Harris is a music journalist and music career development consultant with the emphasis on new and aspiring artists and songwriters. Her book, ‘The College of Songology 101: The Singer/Songwriter’s Need to Know Reference Handbook’ is available at www.collegeofsongology.com Follow her blog at www.nashvillemusicline.com
