There is no denying that in today’s day and age, even record labels that started in the 90s, have caught up with the phenomenon that is the internet; a web of information, with most of the youth at the mercy of a screen and our access to all information. For music to truly become globalized and transcend boundaries, it is no surprise that so many YouTube channels regarding music have erupted and are being followed. With awards and ranking there is even a monopoly over YouTube and each channel is clamoring to reach the top of the YouTube music channel market, because they can all see the future in this. Here is analytics and marketing information for the top YouTube music channels.
Being the world’s most subscribed channel, T-series, is also the fastest growing channel on YouTube with 103 Million subscribers and 74 Billion views in total. Going from a company that sold pirated Bollywood songs it is now a Music Label & a Movie Studio with the idea of bringing people closer together through music. It is said to have surpassed the previously most viewed channel, PewDiePie. They have been around for almost 30 years as a company and were also one of the OGs when it comes to YouTube, joining in the early 2006. What makes this channel even more unique is that they encompass all the languages spoken in India and have sub-categories for them. They are the top YouTube music channel, gain around 117,000 subscribers on the daily, and provide an open invitation for all music lovers or those soothed by the sound of music to subscribe to their channel and have a go at their extensive playlist.
Konrad Cunha Dantas created the channel Canal KondZilla by his stage name KondZilla. This is a Brazilian channel with around 50 Million followers. KondZilla is a music video producer, a screen writer and director who shares all of his music videos on his channel. Most of his work seems fast paced, fiery and uses skillful editing. The channel ranked as YouTube’s 6th most subscribed channel made in 2012. It has a staggering 25 Billion views in total and is recognized as the 9th most viewed channel of all time. His music videos, relatable as they are, have thus gained a lot of attention, they are frequently watched by the subscribers and non-subscribers alike. The videos are eye catching, are well written and well-choreographed, and feature popular Brazilian artists which increases his popularity around the world, especially in Brazil. Canal KondZilla is one of the fastest growing YouTube channels with 1.01 Million subscribers every month.
Justin Bieber is a Canadian pop artist who created his channel in 2007 where he uploaded covers of songs for his family to watch but because he had a knack for singing very well people started liking them as well. On his own, just by word of mouth JB was able to 10,000,000 views on the channel. In his early years he was a regular kid with a good voice who would make song covers until Scooter Braun flew in the 13-year old to Atlanta and JB eventually signed a record deal with him and Usher.
Usher and JB have had a special relationship since the latter’s formative years and to this day hold their friendship close. With fame also come haters, his music video Baby was also the most disliked’ YouTube video for over 8 years. But with that it was also the most liked and viewed video on YouTube, honestly pick your own preference here.
The channel has 45 Million subscribers, and is the 4th most subscribed top YouTube music channel with a total of 19 Billion views.
With the voice of an angel, Edward Christopher Sheeran started his YouTube channel in 2006. He is a singer/songwriter who rose to fame quite late in his career, starting out as a member of a band and eventually doing collaborations with popular music artists. His original music was liked so much that he was finally signed by a record label. The channel took off after he hit 10 million subscribers and is now one of YouTube’s fastest growing top music channels. It sits at a staggering 40 million subscriber count with a total of 17 billion views on his videos. Some videos have reached the most liked/watched videos on YouTube in the last 24 hours. It now sits at the 6th most subscribed channel and the 20th most viewed YouTube channel of all time. His music and music videos tackle all kinds of mental health issues, capture sadness over losing someone, or just personal growth which has attracted a large number of audiences that not only appreciates the music, but the voice behind it. The channel as of now is owned by Warner Music Group.
Zee entertainment enterprises owns the channel Zee Music Company which is based in Mumbai. The enterprise is one of the leading companies in the entertainment scene in India. The launch of this YouTube channel was quoted to be necessary as it was a ‘Large playing field’ in the music industry. The CEO Punit Goenka believes that technology will only gain momentum from here on out so they need to be well versed with the internet, because that is the one place most of the population has access to. The channel houses over 222,000 hours of television content, and makes its presence known in around 171 countries. It is amongst the largest producers and aggregators of Hindi programming in the world ranking 14th in the most subscribed YouTube channels around the world. The channel, as of now, has 39 million subscribers and 18 billion views in total. Few of the most viewed videos include Mile Ho Tum, TujheJaana Hai TohJaa, Jugraafyia etc.
This is perhaps the one channel that came about because of the Music artist being so popular in the 2000s that he was awarded the best-selling artist of that time. Marshall Bruce Mathers III, also known by his stage name Eminem, alter ego Slim Shady is like a jack of all trades, a rapper, songwriter, record producer and actor. His YouTube channel has around 38 million subscribers, all of whom are die-hard fans of this multitalented artist. In that fandom are insanely popular artists of today who have been deeply inspired by his lyrical genius, some of the names are the weekend, Lil Wayne, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran and so on. He has worked with other artists like Rihanna and their music video for ‘Love the way you lie’ has a staggering 1.8 billion views. The channel itself has 14 billion views in total and is visited a few million on the daily.
It is truly a beautiful thing to behold when anonymity gains you so much fame that there are millions around the world that are talking about you, your work and praising you. Inspired by DJs like daft punk, Deadmau5, Christopher Comstock, better known by his stage name Marshmello, is an EDM producer and a DJ wearing a full-head covering marshmallow helmet. His music has taken the industry by the storm becoming one of the fastest rising dance producers in history. He has been able to reach a diverse age group ranging from children to adults who have helped him gain around 36 million subscribers on YouTube and 2 billion streams world-wide. His viewer count stands at 6 billion in total. The track ‘Alone’ gained him 1 billion video views, making it certified Platinum in only 1 year.
Marshmello’s career started by him creating remixes of Zedd’s ‘Beautiful Now’, Jack U’s ‘Where Are U Now’ and they gained viewership on YouTube which was enough attention to give him international recognition.
From the classics like ‘Love Story’ and ‘You Belong with Me’ that were the anthems of an angsty teen, Taylor Swift has produced some of the most popular music videos on YouTube with around 34 million subscribers and 17 billion view count. She is a ten-time GRAMMY winner, singer, songwriter, musician and producer. She started out as a country music singer and eventually fell in love with pop music, even though sometimes you can feel the country vibes from her music. She is also the youngest person in history to win the music industry’s highest honor, The GRAMMY award for Album of the year and the only female artist to win the award twice. Her album 1989 that released in 2014 sold more copies in the opening week than any album in the previous 12 years in the music industry, making Taylor Swift the first and only act to have three albums sell more than one million copies in the opening release week.
Her videos are relatable, story like, and aesthetically pleasing to look at, hence it is no wonder she has been able to gain such a large and extensive following, not only on YouTube but also other social media platforms.
Much like his official YouTube channel JustinBieberVEVO has racked up about 45 million subscribers which is no surprise seeing as he has become a household name in the pop culture industry. This channel was created in 2007 and was once second in subscribers behind PewDiePie who is the 6th most viewed YouTube channel. YouTube added this account’s subscriber count to Bieber’s personal account, the channel then got from 5 to 38 million subscribers in this process. This account now has been closed to subscriptions hence we cannot see a subscriber count any longer, however his total views are around 18 billion.
This channel has all of Bieber’s music videos as well as a smattering of vlogs, his live performances, interviews and so on. It was created for the sole purpose of promoting his music and lyrical videos (with the exception of the interviews) rather than getting to know him as a person which is more so on his official account, which also has more promotions and updates of everyday happenings of Justin Bieber.
As is customary of many VEVO account Taylor swift’s VEVO account has over 33.8million subscribers but because it is linked to her official account you can only subscribe to the latter. Her VEVO channel is one of the most subscribed and viewed channels of all time.
The channel is solely dedicated to her music videos and their BTS. Being one of the most popular artists in the world and simultaneously creating history by being the only woman to have the Album of the year GRAMMY to her name. This account, run by VEVO, is dedicated to her music, showcasing her talent and racking up around 17 billion views in total.
A self-taught artist Alan Walker, previously interested in graphic designing and programming, found his passion in producing music and since then has been on the journey to make the best music he can. He started off as a DJ by the name DJWalkzz.
On his YouTube he has talked about his journey of finding a track on YouTube and being so inspired by it that it made him start exploring producing himself.
He is currently the 41st most subscribed channel on YouTube with a subscriber count of 27 million and 6.6 billion views as of July 2019. His official music video for the single ‘faded’ is one of the most liked videos on YouTube, ranking 5th with 14 million likes. Alan Walker’s philosophy for music is to help people around the world resonate with each other’s feelings through music.
Founded in 2005 by Bang Si-Hyuk, BigHitEntertainment is a South Korean entertainment company that maintains ibighit. It has been popularly known for managing the world famous K-pop band BTS (BangtanSonyendan/ Beyond the Scene). They also manage an up and coming band TXT (Tomorrow x Together) and a solo artist Lee Hyun. After BTS’ insane popularity ibighit gained around 27 million subscribers and there are a few million that visit the channel on the daily.
Perhaps why ibighit has been able to garner such a huge following is due to their marketing strategies that not only show the artists signed under their label in a more human light but also are known to respect the thought process and ideas of the artists. Their video ‘Boy With Luv’ holds the record for most views gained in the first 24 hours for a music video. They seem to be breaking their own records as their video ‘Idol’ previously held the same record. ibighit has made record breaking videos since its popularity after BTS’s single ‘Boy in Luv’ became popular. Their total likes are around 6.2 billion and they happen to be amongst the first few top YouTubers of the music genre.
Trap Nation started as a music promoting channel that gained popularity over time. It is one of the fastest growing channel as it is relatively young but has been able to gather round 26 million subscribers. The creator of this channel, Andre Benz, started when he was 15 in 2012, a trap music enthusiast he created remixes or uploaded basic work made my Trap Artists. To him it is a directory or a treasure of all the trap music he finds inspiring or entertaining.
Trap Nation is YouTube’s 32nd most subscribed channel with a view count of 9.4 billion in total. This channel deals with exclusively trap music. Andre does however only upload music and not their videos as there is a copy right issue. He does, nevertheless, ask the artists or company permission before uploading their music. The background for his music is usually from Unsplash and Adobe Stock.
An American band of 7 people based in Los Angeles, California, Maroon 5 consists of Lead singer Adam Levine, guitarists Jesse Charmichael and James Valentine, bassist Michael ‘Mickey’ Madden, keyboardist PJ Morton, drummer Matthew Flynn, and Sam Farrar, a multi-instrumentalist. The band was first named Kara’s Flowers and started in 1994 as a couple of high school music enthusiast banded together. They rose to fame after signing with the label Octone Records which helped them release their pilot album. Their songs like ‘Moves like Jagger’, ‘She will Be Loved’ and ‘Girls Like You’ have become few of the most liked videos on YouTube and they rank in the top 100 YouTubers category for Music. The group also won the GRAMMY Award for Best New artist in 2005 and their recent (5th) album hit number one on the billboards. Their YouTube channel features their music videos, live performances, and interviews. Their followers amass to around 26 million with 13.3 billion viewership in total.
Eminem’s Vevo channel has now been linked to his main channel, which means if you subscribe to his official channel you will automatically get notifications or updates about both. His VEVO account has all the official music videos, a few BTS, his live performances and interviews. This account is more of a business account where you get to know who Eminem is musically. The subscriber count is around 38 million with a total of 13.3 billion views.
Rihanna’s VEVO channel is operated by the VEVO music company and is linked to her official YouTube account. This account uploads her music videos, interviews, behind the scene videos, and live music performances. It is the 15th most subscribed channel on YouTube, with around 26 million subscribers. She has on and off been the 5th most subscribed YouTube channel surpassing popular YouTubers like Jenna Marbles or artists like Taylor Swift VEVO. There is a chance of it becoming the second most subscribed channel on YouTube due to its fast growing subscriber count. After the opening of her makeup line and clothing line, Rihanna has been able to garner a larger audience and has promoted both on her channel if not overtly but covertly. Her charismatic personality, being a household name and just growing even more in general makes Rihanna one of the most searched person on YouTube. Her VEVO channel’s video view count is 14 billion and still growing.
Sony Music India is a record label owned and managed by a Sony in India. They release, produce, write and direct music videos. The operation began in 1997 and it was the first record company in India that wasn’t owned by locals rather outsourced. It is also the largest owned record label by a foreign company. Sony Music supplies Warner Music Group releases for Indian and SAARC market. Its subscriber count is around 27 million and the total view count around 10 billion.
It has become a popular name in India and everyone either know, or watches something related to it. The content too created by them is engaging and their choice to expand to social media platforms is an extremely smart one. This way people are closer to their content and can access it more easily. Their channel content not only caters to music videos but they have expanded to releasing the Behind the Scene videos of various such videos.
Much like Trap Nation, Wave Music too deals with a collection of a certain kind of music under one channel i.e. claiming to have the best collection of electronic music on YouTube with lyrical videos as the background for all their videos. The channel is dedicated to chill trap, electronic pop, chill pop, future bass, indie dance, melodic base and the groovy side of EDM and pop. Anything the creator of this channel appreciates, he tends to upload. What is most interesting about this channel is that it is open to people sending in their work at any given moment. The creator promises to give each submission and honest chance and then decides to upload them of not on YouTube. The subscription count is around 2.7 million and the total view count is 762 million.
A YouTube channel that uploads music videos of Dutch artists and is a record company with the same name i.e. Spinnin’ Records. Founded in 1997 this channel features music videos by Oliver Heldens, Sam Feldt, KSHMR, UmmetOzcan and so on. They have so many artists signed to their label that they promise a new music video almost every day on their channel dealing especially with genres like dance, house, electric house, future house, and trap etc. The label would promote their music without naming the artist to create a buzz and attract more attention. They now provide management, publishing and marketing for artists that are under their contract.
This Dutch record label gained over 25.4 million subscribers till July 2019 and is the most subscribed and viewed Dutch channel on YouTube. They also have an official website spinninrecords.com where Dutch artists upload and share their music to the record label’s talent pool for the spinnin record team to watch and possibly forward their contract for signing. Warner Music Group as of now have ownership of the spinin record after buying it for around 100 million.
An altogether charismatic personality, Peter Gene Hernandez, better known as Bruno Mars, is an American Musician known for his music genius and adaptability in many genres. He became extremely popular in 2010 when he helped release his first singles ‘Nothin’ on You’ by B.o.B and ‘Billionaire’ by Travie McCoy both featuring his vocals. His dream was to be a musician since he was a child which also made him move from Honolulu to Loa Angeles. It then should be no surprise that when he released his first album it peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States reaching number 1 in Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
His YouTube channel features all of his music videos which have been close to becoming few of the most liked videos. His channel amassed around 10 billion views in total. The channel also has his live performances, interviews and promotional videos for various campaigns.
Also known as Shemaroo Filmi Gaane is a channel for the Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd which started off as a book circulating company in 1962 and is now an established media content house in India. Their work includes content acquisition, value addition to content and content distribution. It has a large library of over 2900 titles. It has also expanded to becoming an entertainment company that hallmarked several pioneering efforts and considers itself unique in executing its ideas. With Hindi films like Slum Dog Millionaire, AjabPrem Ki GhazabKahani, DilToh Baha Hai, Chandni Chowk to China and so on in their directory. Hence there is no doubt that this company has a massive following all around India. Shemarooproves itself to be a library or a host of content for satellite channels, physical formats and emerging digital technologies like the Mobile, Internet, Broadband, IPTV and DTH among others.
It has about 25 million subscribers and 11 billion views in total on YouTube.
A Puerto Rican up and coming Latin trap singer and songwriter, Juan Carlos OzunaRasado, better known as Ozuna is one of the new wave urban singers coming out of Puerto Rico. What is most interesting about these singers is the raw emotions their music evokes and is an instant hit amongst the youngsters and music enthusiast alike. More than 10 of Ozuna’s songs have 200 million views. He is an inspiration to other young and extremely talented artists that have something original to bring to the table like Maluma, Farruko etc.
He started his YouTube channel in 2016 amassing 25 million subscribers and about 12 billion views in total almost all on his own. Music seems to run in his veins as his father was a reggae performer named Vico C, but was shot when Ozuna was only 3. The artist seems like a genuine performer who has a lot of respect for his art.
Calling itself the biggest Funk channel GR6 explode is a Brazilian Music company that is centered around Gr6 music. Consisting of Funk Carioca, Favela Funk and Baile Funk is a Brazilian music genre from the south coast of Brazil which is a combination of Miami bass and gangsta rap music.
Gr6 explode shows DJs and artists like MC Mirella and MC Bruninho. Their YouTube channel has racked up to 24 million subscribers and 11 billion viewers in total. It is perhaps due to their fast paced music and fiery music videos that they are ranked 66th in the subscribers and 6th overall in Brazil. They also happen to be the most subscribed Gr6 channel on YouTube.
Speed records is an interesting YouTube Channel which is language specific i.e. it only produces, records, writes and promotes songs in Punjabi. This Indian YouTube channel is the biggest Punjabi record label in the world. It is a mixture of colorful, head bobbing, and feet tapping music that remains true to its Punjabi roots and tries to portray all the culture Punjab has to offer. Because Punjabi music is already so catchy it is no surprise that this channel has around 24 million subscribers who could also be called Punjabi music lovers.
It distributes music all over the world and the UK, US, Pakistan, India and New Zealand etc. are the largest consumers of it. Speed records is now partnered up with Ganna which promotes independent music from artists under the brand name of Ganna Originals, it will be a series produced in partnership with other labels.
A yet another Puerto Rican YouTube channel, Daddy Yankee is an addition of hip hop, pop, urban and Latin songs behind legendary hits Hard, Gasoline, Slow, Shaky Shaky and so on. He is responsible for creating genre defining albums like Barrio Fino. The YouTube channel portrays all the accomplishments of daddy yankee and all his music videos. The subscriber count is 24-23 million and the views are around 11 billion in total. His music is exciting and fast paced, with many of his videos reaching above 1 million views. Daddy Yankee also known as Ramon Luis Ayala Rodriguez has won over 82 awards since his rise to international fame in 2004. Winning 5 Latin Grammys and two Billboards in particular.
Roberto Daniel Pumar better known online as El ReinoInfantil, is an argentine businessman who founded his music entertainment company known as Leader Entertainment. The channel boasts a few of the most popular children’s songs on YouTube with being ranked no.1 in the world. The channel has around 500 animated videos. They are a combination of hilarious children series like La Granja De Zenon, The songs of the Zoo, Rounds, Paco the Sailor and so on. It has gathered around 23 million subscribers that avidly enjoy their content which mostly includes the children. The total views on their channel is around 21 billion.
A once world sensation, One direction were a pop band of 5 English-Irish members based in London namely Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson. They rose to fame in 2010 after they were signed by Simon Cowell during X-Factor. Their single ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ was an international success and was one of the widely streamed videos on YouTube. They also produced other hit albums like ‘Up All Night’, ‘Take Me Home’ and ‘Midnight Memories’ that topped charts in most major markets. The One direction VEVO channel has all of their music videos, and singles that were almost always a hit and would gain massive attention right after their release on YouTube. The channel has about 23 million subscribers and a staggering 8 billion views which is a lot for a band that has already been disbanded.
An Indian record label Sony Music has expanded to a VEVO channel that has around 22 million subscribers and 10 billion views on their channel in total. The company itself began op