Music the driving force on YouTube, says Sandeep Menon

YouTube, one of the world’s most popular platforms in the spheres of entertainment and social media, has turned into an essential vehicle for boosting independent artist revenue. Point in case being, the over a billion hits that made Korean pop sensation Psy gallop all the way to the bank.

Owned by internet giant Google, the world’s largest video website is all about creativity and participation where artists, music labels, film studios all upload their works. YouTube easily attracts over a billion viewers every month and understandably, India, an emerging market with increasing internet connectivity, provides YouTube with potential for driving its revenue. The company is keen to create a strong user and revenue base in India. “YouTube is a platform where users watch, share and engage and enjoy the videos they like, if the content is good, it usually goes viral on the site, said Sandeep Menon, Country Head – Marketing, India –Google.

Of the 72 video hours uploaded globally, India accounts for the highest upload in Asia and as many as 37 million unique visitors visit YouTube every month, he added. Music, according to Menon, is the biggest category on YouTube followed by entertainment. And they are growing at a quick pace. “In India, we offer a huge portfolio of songs and almost all leading TV shows from the top broadcasters on YouTube. In addition to this, we are also seeing the emergence of professionally produced made for web content. We see all the three growing,” he said.  Launching its pay channel in India is also in the pipeline said Sandeep Menon.