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Keenan Cahill, a popular YouTuber known for his viral lip sync videos, died last week (Dec. 29) due to complications from open-heart surgery. He was just 27 years old.
According to his manager David Graham, per TMZ, the content creator underwent the surgery in a Chicago hospital on Dec. 15 and was put on life support after leaving the operating room.
Cahill was born with a rare condition called Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome, which progressively causes tissues and organs in the body to enlarge, become inflamed, scar and eventually atrophy. The disease can also cause skeletal abnormalities.
In a GoFundMe launched to help cover his medical and funeral expenses, Cahill’s aunt wrote, “Because of his rare disease, he has had countless surgeries over his short life including a bone marrow transplant. Thank you to everyone that made Keenan’s short life memorable. He will be missed by all who knew him.”
The YouTube personality first went viral in the summer of 2010 by uploading a lip sync to Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream.” Over the years, he also teamed up with the likes of Britney Spears, 50 Cent, Justin Bieber, DJ Pauly D, David Guetta, Jason Derulo and more. Cahill even had history on the Billboard charts, with “Hands Up,” his 2013 single with Electrovamp, landing at No. 14 on the Dance Club Songs chart.
Following the news of his death, tributes to Cahill flooded in on social media. Pauly D wrote, “Rip Keenan…Thank You for always making the world smile,” alongside a photo of the pair behind a DJ booth. Andy Grammer shared his own video with the YouTuber and tweeted, “So sad to hear about the passing of @KeenanCahill – He was a bright light and his joy was undeniably infectious.”
Read more tributes to Cahill’s memory below.
It has been 10 years since Psy’s “Gangnam Style” became the first YouTube video to reach one billion views. In addition to pushing K-pop into the global stratosphere, the vibrant video (now with more than 4.6 billion views, as of Dec. 2022) kickstarted the video-streaming platform’s official Billion Views Club — which has grown to become a landmark achievement for artists and industry leaders alike.
Over 300 music videos have entered the club since its inception in 2012 and several have surpassed Psy’s history-making visual. Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” reigns as the most-viewed music video on YouTube, crossing 8 billion views just five years after its release. Also lapping Psy are Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” with 5.8 billion views, Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again” featuring Charlie Puth with 5.7 billion views, and Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” featuring Bruno Mars with 4.7 billion views, all as of Dec. 2022.
A number of superstar musical acts have had multiple videos surpass a billion views — including Justin Bieber, Adele, Bad Bunny and Taylor Swift. Colombian singer-songwriter J Balvin has entered the Billion Views Club 12 different times, making him the artist with the most videos in the coveted club.
In 2022 alone, more than 50 music videos earned their first billion views. While some musical acts made their triumphant return to the Billion Views Club, others earned their first entries ever. The Weeknd added his fifth video with a billion views thanks to “Save Your Tears,” less than two years after its premiere. On the other hand, Cyndi Lauper reached the milestone for the first time with “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” 39 years after its initial release (though it wasn’t uploaded to YouTube until 2009).
To celebrate a decade of billions, Billboard revisits all 51 music videos to enter YouTube’s Billion Views Club in 2022 below.
Exactly one decade ago, on Dec. 21, 2012, Psy‘s “Gangnam Style” made history as the first music video to reach 1 billion YouTube views. As a result, YouTube’s Billion Views Club was born. A way to celebrate official videos that have achieved peak virality, the club is now home to over 300 music videos, including many of the most iconic hits from the past 10 years — from Adele‘s “Hello” to Luis Fonsi‘s “Despacito” feat. Daddy Yankee.
But how much do artists get paid for crossing the billion-view threshold for a music video on YouTube? The royalties are dependent on a few factors. Label affiliation, location and type of view affect these rates significantly. For example, artists signed to major labels — which represent the vast majority of members of the Billion Views Club — earn higher rates on the platform than those who are unsigned or affiliated with an indie label.
But location is possibly the biggest determining factor of all: in the U.S., rates are generally higher than in other countries. So while an official YouTube music video for a major-label artist could generate a blended average of $0.0038 per stream in the U.S., globally — which is how YouTube counts its views — Billboard estimates that rate at $0.0026 per stream. YouTube Premium video streams (views from customers who subscribe to YouTube’s ad-free video-watching tier) are also higher than plays from users on the ad-supported tier, both in the U.S. and globally.
Consequently, for major-label artists, 1 billion video streams on an official music video would generate about $2.6 million globally. That’s, of course, before the label takes their cut of royalties, which varies widely based on each artist’s individual deal, and before the artist takes into account what, if anything, they owe to their featured artists or producers on the track.
For non-official videos that use music — like a user-generated video of someone’s visit to the zoo, set to a song by a major-label artist — that global blended stream estimate would drop down to $0.0021, given lower payouts on UGC videos and the over-indexing of UGC viewership vs. that of official videos. So for a major-label song on YouTube that generates 1 billion views across all videos that use it, the label and artist would generate closer to $2.1 million.
Of the more than 300 music videos on YouTube to hit 1 billion views, the fastest to reach the benchmark is “Hello” by Adele, which took just 88 days from release to amass such a viewership. Next is a tie between “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran and “Despacito,” both of which took 97 days. The third and fourth places on the list are also both held by Spanish-language songs, with “Mi Gente” by J Balvin and Willy William earning the title in 103 days and “Échame La Culpa” by Luis Fonsi and Demi Lovato taking 111 days.
Additional Reporting by Ed Christman.
Preview
The Weeknd‘s billion views streak continues. The singer’s music video for “Save Your Tears” has hit 1 billion views on YouTube and becomes his fifth video in his catalogue to do so.
“Save Your Tears” was formally released as the fourth single from The Weeknd’s critically acclaimed and record breaking fourth studio album, After Hours, on Aug. 9, 2020. The video for the track, however, did not arrive on the video-streaming platform until the following year on Jan. 5.
The provocative visual sees the pop star — face drastically changed by numerous (fake) plastic surgeries — performing for masked attendees at a dinner party and engaging in disruptive antics such as dancing on tables, purposefully spilling champagne and walking around with a gun, which he later points to his head and shoots. Confetti — instead of a bullet — comes out of the firearm, and the audience erupts into applause by the conclusion of the video.
“Save Your Tears” is the latest video in The Weeknd’s videography to reach the 1 billion view mark. “Starboy” currently has 2.1 billion views, “The Hills” is at 1.9 billion, “Can’t Feel My Face” boasts 1.2 billion, and “I Feel It Coming” (featuring Daft Punk) has 1.04 billion.
The success of “Save Your Tears” doesn’t just extend to the video, it’s also reflected in the track’s performance on the Billboard charts. Following the release of After Hours on March 29, 2020, the song debuted on the April 4-dated Billboard Hot 100. Its remix, featuring Ariana Grande and released in April 2021, peaked in the No. 1 on the May 8, 2021-dated chart.
Revisit the video for “Save Your Tears” above.
YouTube is reportedly working to remove reuploaded video clips of Kanye “Ye” West‘s controversial interview on Alex Jones’ Infowars talk show.
During his appearance Thursday (Dec. 1) on the alt-right conspiracy theorist’s program, Ye shocked viewers by praising Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. “Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler,” the rapper said. “How about that one?”
Later in the day, Ye was also suspended once again from Twitter after posting an image of a swastika merged with a Star of David.
NBC News reported on Saturday (Dec. 3) that YouTube parent company Google was “working to remove reuploads if the antisemitism in the interview isn’t denounced in the video via added commentary,” according to a statement from the tech giant.
The article also pointed out that other social media platforms, like Twitter, had not yet stated how it would addressed the matter.
Billboard has reached out to representatives for Google/YouTube and Jones’ Infowars for comment.
Ye has been on a monthlong media tour that has found the rapper repeatedly spewing hateful rhetoric aimed at Jewish people, which has led to rapid downfall of his once-formidable fashion and music empire. The reaction from the public was swift, with several companies — including The Gap, Balenciaga and Adidas — terminating their relationships and brand deals with the rapper.
Ye also announced in recent weeks that he intends to run for president again in 2024.
2022 was a big year for music and music videos, and YouTube officially unveiled on Thursday (Dec. 1) its top 10 songs of the year.
Leading the U.S.-based list is “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from the Encanto soundtrack, which also rocked the Billboard charts as it ruled the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart for five weeks back in February.
Following the Disney hit is Kodak Black‘s “Super Gremlin” and Jessica Darrow‘s “Surface Pressure” in second and third place, respectively.
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The songs that appear on the annual YouTube include streams from the official music video, lyric videos and user-generated content that uses the full official song, and cover the period from Jan. 1, 2022 to Nov. 15, 2022. Its lists are restricted to two songs for each artist or album.
It was a big year for Latin music on YouTube, as both Bad Bunny and Karol G had two songs each on YouTube’s top 10 list. Bad Bunny‘s “Tití Me Preguntó” launched in at No. 4 while his Chencho Corleone collaboration “Me Porto Bonito” was No. 6. Karol G’s Becky G duet “Mamiii” came in at No. 7 while her sultry “Provenza” hit No. 9. Lil Baby’s “In a Minute” completes the top 10.
Bad Bunny has enjoyed another massive year across all platforms. The Puerto Rican rapper was, separately, named the top artist in Spotify’s year-end list, and his LP Un Verano Sin Ti was its most-streamed album.
YouTube’s rankings don’t end there. The streaming giant also shares its lists for top trending videos, top shorts, top creators, breakout creators, ads, and more.
See the full list of YouTube’s top songs in the United States below and click here for more.
1. Encanto Cast – “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”2. Kodak Black – “Super Gremlin”3. Jessica Darrow – “Surface Pressure”4. Bad Bunny – “Tití Me Preguntó”5. Future – “Wait for U” feat. Drake, Tems6. Bad Bunny, Chencho Corleone – “Me Porto Bonito”7. Karol G, Becky G – “Mamiii”8. Imagine Dragons x JID – “Enemy”9. Karol G – “Provenza”10. Lil Baby – “In a Minute”
For 10 years, Felix Kjellberg a.k.a. PewDiePie was YouTube’s most-subscribed creator and became the first person to reach 100 million subscribers in 2019. However, his title was claimed this month when MrBeast (real name Jimmy Donaldson) gained his 112th million subscriber, making him now the most-followed person on the popular video sharing platform.
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MrBeast is best known for videos featuring massive cash giveaways and prizes, as well as his charity work. In 2021, he launched a charity that functions as a food bank to feed communities across the US. He also worked with fellow YouTuber Mark Rober to raise more than $24 million for their collaborative fundraiser TeamTrees to plant 20 million trees globally. Their other fundraiser, TeamSeas, raises money to remove 30 million pounds of plastic and trash from oceans, rivers and beaches.
In December 2021, MrBeast won the top award, creator of the year, at the YouTube Streamy Awards for the second year in a row. Both MrBeast and TeamSeas were highlighted in a special segment to showcase their work in the community and for the environment.
For this year’s Streamy Awards, set to take over Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Dec. 4, MrBeast is the top nominee for the second year in a row. He has seven nods, including creator of the year, collaboration, creator for social good and creator product, editing. MrBeast is vying for a record third consecutive win for creator of the year. For more information, visit www.streamys.org.
Check out MrBeast’s YouTube channel here.
Avicii‘s 2015 music video for his dance hit “Waiting for Love” has joined YouTube’s Billion Views Club. The achievement marks the late DJ and producer’s second clip to reach one billion views on the video sharing platform following 2013’s “Wake Me Up.”
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The song, which peaked at No. 7 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, was featured on Avicii’s 2015 album Stories and features English singer Simon Aldred as an uncredited vocalist.
In 2021, nearly three and a half years after the producer’s untimely death at age 28, the Avicii estate announced an upcoming documentary on the life and music of the Swedish artist born Tim Bergling. Set for release in 2023, the film will feature newly produced material and includes interviews with Bergling’s family, friends and colleagues, along with never-before-seen archive footage and interviews with Bergling himself.
The film is being billed as a look at the “music and the artist who defined an era and changed the world of music forever, and is an up-close, intimate, and epic story about his unparalleled successes and his struggles to cope with the pressure.”
In the meantime, before the documentary is released next year, rewatch the music video for Avicii’s “Waiting for Love” below.
YouTube announced that it now has more than 80 million Music and Premium subscribers around the world (counting users in trials). That represents a jump of 30 million users from 2021.
In a blog post, Global Head of Music Lyor Cohen called passing the 80-million threshold “a monumental moment for music on YouTube.” He added, “Hopefully, these milestones demonstrate our commitment to becoming the #1 contributor of revenue to the music industry.”
In a statement, Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group, praised YouTube for “creating a compelling and unique music service that is rapidly growing its base of subscribers and contributing significantly to the vibrancy of the music ecosystem.”
“YouTube has demonstrated their commitment to partnership with the music industry and growing revenue for all artists and rightsholders alike,” added Jeremy Sirota, CEO of Merlin.
YouTube’s latest level-up follows the company’s September announcement that it had paid out $6 billion to the music industry in the 12 months between June 2021 and June 2022. That amount represented a hefty 50% increase relative to the previous sum YouTube reported in June 2020: $4 billion over a 12-month period. (In 2020, the company reported that it had 30 million subscribers.)
Cohen has set lofty goals for YouTube: “We want our twin engine of ads and subscriptions to be the #1 contributor of revenue to the industry by 2025,” he declared in September. That won’t be easy; Spotify’s Loud & Clear report said the company paid $7 billion in royalties to the music industry in 2021. That was a 40% jump from the $5 billion the service said it paid out in 2020.
Among other major streaming services, Apple Music reported 60 million global subscribers back in 2019, while Amazon Music reported 55 million subscribers worldwide in 2020 (neither company has updated those numbers since). Elsewhere, the much-smaller Deezer boasts 9.4 million global subscribers as of its Q3 2022 earnings report, while paid subscribers to the diminishing Pandora service were 6.3 million, according to parent company SiriusXM’s Q3 earnings report released Nov. 1.
In his blog post, Cohen seemed cheerful about his company’s ability to leapfrog its competitors, ending the short note with McFadden & Whitehead‘s ode to persistence, “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now.”
YouTube’s ad revenue dropped down to $7.07 billion during the third quarter, marking a 1.9 percent decrease compared to the previous year, parent company Alphabet reported on Tuesday.
The $7.07 billion figure is also a decline compared to the second quarter, when the video platform reported $7.34 billion in advertising revenue during the second quarter, slightly missing analysts’ expectations but representing a 4 percent year-over-year increase.
YouTube’s ad revenue growth has slowed down considerably since the earlier years of the pandemic, when the company saw massive gains; in July 2021, the company had even outperformed its first quarter ad revenue earnings by $1 billion, representing a whopping 84 percent year-over-year increase.
But the video giant isn’t the only tech and social platform to be impacted by a declining digital ad market. Snap, which has previously warned of macroeconomic headwinds impacting its ad business, reported a net loss of $360 million during Q3 as the company has seen engagement in the U.S. decrease by 5 percent year over year.
As YouTube continues to fend off competition, the video platform is preparing to launch one of the biggest updates to its ad revenue sharing program with creators. Beginning next year, short-form creators posting to YouTube Shorts — the company’s TikTok competitor — will receive a 45 percent cut of ad revenue, which will be calculated based on the creator’s share of total Shorts views.
To come to this calculation, YouTube will count the total amount of ad revenue from all ads displayed on Shorts each month. Of that total, an undisclosed percentage will be allocated toward creators, while the remainder will be used to cover the costs of music licensing, Neal Mohan, YouTube’s chief product officer, said at an event on Sept. 20 announcing the program. Creators will then receive 45 percent of the funding allocated toward creators, though each individual will receive different amounts based on their contribution to the total number of Shorts views.
The decision to opt for a 45 percent cut, rather than the 55 percent share that long-form YouTube creators receive, could also signal the start of platforms beginning to reassert themselves as they contend with declining ad revenue.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.