Following this morning’s news regarding the launch a “Cards,” a system designed to eventually replace annotations on YouTube, the company also announced the launch of a new site called YouTube for Artists. The website aims to be more of guide to various resources available to music artists promoting their work on YouTube, and includes tips about how to get discovered, how to engage fans, and how to generate revenue, among other things.
It also points artists to the newly launched “Cards,” which are interactive overlays that video publishers can use for a variety of purposes, including to help with raising funds via a crowdfunding campaign, selling merchandise, promoting upcoming shows, and more.
In addition, the site connects artists with information about free production resources available around the world, as well as how they can leverage their YouTube views for getting charted on Billboard or played on SiriusXM, for example.
YouTube says, too, that it’s working on other soon-to-launch tools aimed at this audience of video creators, including a new data tool that shows where fans are located at the city level, as well as the total number of views of official videos and fan uploads through its Content ID system. The idea here is to help artists better determine when to release their upcoming videos, based on which time zone has the most fans, for example, or even where to plan for upcoming shows. The company says it will be demonstrating this tool in advance of its public debut at this week’s SXSW Music festival in Austin.
The forthcoming “Find your fans” tools is featured prominently on the new website at launch, but is listed only as “coming soon” with no time frame given with regard to its public availability. However, YouTube did tell us that the launch is planned for the “coming weeks.”
YouTube notes it’s also planning to launch its showcase of some of its more popular stars, with its version of a music awards show, the YouTube Music Awards, later this month. For the first time this year, the show will also include a release of an exclusive collection of new music videos from 15 of the top artists on YouTube, notes the company on the YTMA 2015 channel. The company says it plans to offer more promotional programs in the future which are similarly aimed at helping artists get their music discovered.
The YouTube for Artists website is one of now a growing number of resources the company is making available to its video publishers. YouTube already hosts a Creator Hub, which today sees over 1 million visitors per month.
News of the new website’s availability also comes following an article from The Guardian this morning, where a former YouTube exec is quoted as warning YouTube’s creator crowd about jumping ship to other platforms, or risk alienating their audiences.