YouTube video samples drove 1B monthly views on Shorts: It’s time to change your music video strategy

YouTube is sharing more stats confirming the momentum of its TikTok rival Shorts and the power of combining it with the YouTube long-form video platform.

Last week Google shared that Shorts has 1.5 billion monthly logged-in viewers a number that rivals TikTok. Now comes word that in April, Shorts containing content sampled from long-form YouTube videos generated over 100 billion views.

Overall Shorts boasts 30 billion views per day.

YouTube’s message to creators is clear:

Uploading to both Shorts and long-form leads to longer watch times and more subscriber growth.

Two examples:

• With a mixture of DIY performances, collaborations, and Shorts showcasing his creative process and personal life, rising star JVKE added 1.4 million subscribers to his official Artist channel directly from Shorts since January.

• Emerging singer/songwriter EMELINE made a mark with viewers on Shorts, with her content on the platform elevating her subscriber base by 150,000K. She has also seen a 90% increase in long-form video views since she started posting Shorts on YouTube. 

Overall, YouTube is working to become the top place for artists to create sticky ((aka lasting) relationships with fans and grow long-term, sustainable music careers.

One way YouTube is doing that is the addition of prompts to Shorts which encourage the viewer to dive deeper into an artist’s repertoire. Given the depth of YouTube’s catalog, that’s not a path to fan engagement that TikTok are ever likely to duplicate.

“Everybody knows that our mission at YouTube is to become the leading revenue generator for the music industry. Money is great, but it’s not enough. Building artist fandom is equally important,” said Lyor Cohen, YouTube Head Of Musc “We want YouTube to be THE PLACE for artists to connect and create meaningful relationships with their fans and grow long-term, sustainable music careers; Shorts, combined with long-form video, is proving to be a critical way to do that.”

Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and serves as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is the Founder and President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.