Music Tuesday: YouTube’s budding music stars and more

It’s no secret that YouTube is home to a burgeoning number of musicians who nurture their talent with the help of the online community. Over the years, we’ve developed ways for musicians to get more engaged -- with us and with the community. But often, at the end of the day, it’s the musicians themselves who create their own opportunities. Sometimes the most interesting work comes from people who sharpen their chops by covering the big names...until that fateful day when they branch out and start writing their own songs.

This month, we’re featuring four music partners who embody that spirit. Some, like garrethdavis and rosafrancescamusic, are young musicians honing their craft in the public eye. Rosa came to our attention for her subtle renderings of Joanna Newsom songs; we were thrilled to discover she also writes her own. The Dublin-based Garreth snagged our attention with his Everything Series, which sees him regularly uploading songs-in-progress about everything from love to the Irish elections.

The ceaselessly charismatic Todrick Hall seems to be most inspired when he’s paying homage to the chain stores that are ubiquitous in our lives -- and he delights in choreographing real-life Glee moments in which people break out into song in the middle of Wal-Mart. Meanwhile, Joseph Raciti is proving to be as talented at his choral audio quilts as he is with his piano-driven pop songs. (Joseph’s currently at work on his second musical, which he plans to release on YouTube.)

All of them are adding their voices to the cacophonous chorus that is YouTube -- and we treasure them for it. We think you will, too.



If that’s not enough music for you, check out our other features this week: a playlist from French electro-pop sensation Yelle (flanked by android bodyguards from outer space, apparently) and an amazing new video from Israeli phenomenon Kutiman, the artist who crafts songs using YouTube videos as his source material. Prepare to be stunned.



Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Learn how to audition for the Tupac online casting call with DJ Skee.”

Who’s the next big thing on YouTube? You tell us

Last month, we told you about two new programs to help connect aspiring YouTube Partners and creators with the tools, education, funding and promotion they need to turn their video creation hobbies into careers. The YouTube Creator Institute will send up-and-coming video producers to two of the US’s leading film and television schools for an advanced 4-8 week program to train alongside industry leaders, helping them take their skills to the next level. And YouTube NextUp asked members of the YouTube Partner Program to make a video application outlining the future direction they’d like to take their content, with the strongest submissions receiving $35,000 in funding from YouTube and a spot at a special boot camp for them to learn new skills.

We’re running these programs because we believe that the next superstars of music, film, comedy, animation, and whole new content genres are practicing their craft on YouTube today. Every day we come across extremely talented creators of all ages and from all walks of life, and we want to see them succeed and reach bigger audiences. We’re also aware that you, the YouTube community, are often the best judges of talent! You’ve already made stars of people like MysterGuitarMan, the Annoying Orange, and Dave Days, and we want to ask you to help pick the next generation of leading creators.

The top-scoring eligible entries to the YouTube Creator Institute and YouTube NextUp have moved on to the public voting stage, and we’re inviting you to go to youtube.com/creators to vote for the people you’d like to see advance to the final round.

On the voting site, you’ll be able to review submissions from:

• New types of vloggers
• Claymation storytellers
• Horror film afficianados
• Budding musicians
• Special effects pyromaniacs
• And many more

We encourage you to judge the videos and creators based on their creativity, uniqueness, and potential to become a star. Of course, also think about what you’d like to see more of on YouTube! You can vote up to once a day for the creators you like from now until 5pm PT on April 8.

Top voted videos will move on to the final rounds of judging, and we’ll keep you posted on the winners in the coming weeks.

Austin Lau, Partner Program Specialist, recently watched “The Coolest Extreme Skiing Dudes”.

Looking back...

It’s hard to believe that just a century ago, YouTube was a fledgling video site for paupers and presidents alike. Today, we celebrate 100 years of YouTube, and we thought we would reflect on our inaugural year with a re-print of our first blog post from 1911. In honor of this milestone, today’s homepage is a reproduction of how you might have viewed it 100 years ago. Check out some of the most popular videos of the time and be sure to try out our new upload mode which summons a horse-drawn carriage to pick up your video submission from your home. Here’s to another epoch of great video!

April 1911

Editor’s note: Welcome to YouTube! Today we’re honored to have President William Howard Taft as our guest blogger to celebrate our official site launch.

Ladies and gentlemen of these United States. We are living in an age in which, by exaggeration of the defects of our present condition, by false charges and responsibility for it against individuals and classes, by holding up to the feverish imagination of the less fortunate and the discontented the possibilities of a millennium, a condition of popular unrest has been produced.

Due to advancements in modern technology and the advent of the Edison kinetoscope, there is hope. And I venture to say that there is no other destination on the web which has taken more real steps of such progress than the YouTubes, making its debut today. Here, instantaneous expression of the people may be upheld. Great feats of strength may be honored! Here, industry may thrive and cinema appreciated in its rightful form.

I should be untrue to myself, to my promises, and to the declarations of the party platform upon which I was elected to office, if the incoming Congress is not aware of the importance of boxing cat videos and our shared human moments of folly. We should encourage this in every way feasible.

It is a very enterprising time in America. The Pedro Miguel Locks have just been completed as part of the Panama Canal, there are Nobel Prize rumors circulating around regarding Ms. Curie’s so-called “radium discovery”, and J.P. Morgan is building a steamship they say is unsinkable. Very enterprising times, indeed. One can only imagine what events will be recorded for all the world to see.

William Howard Taft, President of the United States of America, recently watched “Histeria! William Howard Taft - Theme From Taft.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu answers your questions live on YouTube

Two weeks ago, YouTube and Israel’s Channel 2 News asked you to submit your questions for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Thousands of you responded, from more than 90 countries, and while a large portion of questions were submitted from users across the Arab world, including Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, Jordan, many also from farther corners like Japan, Pakistan, Canada, Nepal, and Venezuela.

Today, at 11:10 am PST, Prime Minister Netanyahu will answer the top-voted questions from around the world, and you can watch the interview live at www.youtube.com/worldview.

One topic which attracted hundreds of questions by users worldwide was the the fate of the kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. People also posted about about negotiations and chances for peace with the Palestinians, the recent upheavals in the Middle East, and housing and gas prices in Israel.

To see which questions Netanyahu will answer, and how he’ll respond, please visit the World View channel at 11:10 am or check back later today to see it in its uploaded form.


Alon Chen, Israel Product Marketing Manager, and Ramya Raghavan, News and Politics Manager, recently watched, “Two Questions for PM Netanyahu”.

Music Tuesday: Farewell, LCD Soundsystem and more

Welcome back to Music Tuesday, the weekly blog feature that lets you know what music we’re featuring on YouTube -- and why! Dig in and discover some new -- and old -- music with us this week.

Album Mania!
The cat’s out of the bag by now: Radiohead made their entire new album available on YouTube yesterday. (Let the wild rumpus start!) But this week we aren’t just saluting those deities of indie rock’s Mt. Olympus; we’re also swooning for up-and-coming Swedish alterna-folk act Fredrik. The group crafted a dreamy, album-length video premiere for the soon-to-be-released “Flora.” The video follows a toy wolf named Ylva as she wanders through the small Swedish town of Malmo, and the visuals are almost as hypnotic as the delicately rendered, space-engendering music that accompanies it.



Farewell, LCD Soundsystem
Led by mastermind James Murphy (who only put together a group for live performances), LCD Soundsystem married rock’s edge with electronica’s love for the dance. It was an unlikely experiment which Murphy himself reportedly didn’t take seriously at first, and which saw Murphy vocally aping his inspiration, Mark E. Smith of The Fall. But three Grammy nominations (and one win) later -- and after seeing last year’s release “This Is Happening” hailed on many critics’ end-of-year lists -- Murphy is hanging up the microphone on this particular project. We salute the band the only way we know how: with a playlist.

Aloe Blacc “Loving You Is Killing Me”
Every so often, a video comes along that simply brings joy to your heart. The song is great, and the video just begs to be watched over and over. American soul singer and rapper Aloe Blacc uploaded one of those just a few weeks ago, and we haven’t stopped watching since. Blacc is a compelling figure all on his own, but check out the amazing kid he dances with!



Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Married In Berdichev @ Bocumast Records SXSW 2010.”

33 million streams in 189 countries around the world: The YouTube Symphony Orchestra Grand Finale

On March 20, the Grand Finale of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011 was held at Sydney Opera House and live-streamed to the world on YouTube During the week-long festival leading up to the finale, 101 musicians from 33 countries joined together for the first time—immersed in new cultural experiences, musical mentorship and performances in one of the world’s most iconic symbols of the arts.

During the three-and-a-half hour Grand Finale—and as people in different timezones awoke to re-broadcasts—the event was streamed 33 million times around the world to 189 countries. This included 2.8 million mobile live-streams—making it one of our biggest ever streaming events to date, on mobile and desktop. That means the event was streamed to nearly one-and-a-half times the entire population of Australia, where the event took place.

One of the goals of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra is to make classical music accessible; the total data transferred by the stream was a whopping 422 terabytes—the equivalent of 145 million MP3 files of classical music being emailed around the world.

The top 10 countries viewing the performance online were:
1. U.S.
2. Germany
3. Italy
4. France
5. Poland
6. Russia
7. Australia
8. U.K.
9. Brazil
10. Taiwan

Enormous thanks go to all our Symphony members who flew to Sydney from around the world and put their hearts and souls into an extraordinary performance. You surprised and moved people and had some fun along the way!

For the rest of you, you can read about the experience of YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011 cellist Mathisha Panagoda in a guest post on the YouTube Australia blog. And if you missed the Grand Finale, you can watch the full concert and highlights from the last week anytime at youtube.com/symphony.



Ed Sanders, Group Marketing Manager, recently watched “YouTube Symphony Sails highlights”.

We’re turning off our lights, in honor of Earth Hour

In 2007, organizers in Sydney came up with the idea for Earth Hour, a specific time when local residents would conserve energy by collectively turning off their lights. Since then, Earth Hour has grown into a global movement. In 2010, people in 128 countries voluntarily switched off their lights to take part in this event and demonstrate their commitment to the Earth. Learn more:



Earth Hour 2011 will take place on Saturday, March 26, from 8:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. (your local time) and this year YouTube is joining the movement by “turning the lights down” on the site. During this hour, the YouTube watch page will be darkened. If you prefer the normal watch page experience, there will be the option to turn the light switch back “on”.

Remember, you can also participate in this global event by signing up at www.earthhour.org and turning off your own lights at 8:30 p.m.

Ramya Raghavan, YouTube News and Politics, recently watched “Earth Hour Challenge”.