The Next Wave of Entertainers

It was the summer of 2002 when my love affair with reality TV singing shows began. The culprit? "American Idol." My teenage self was captivated by the format (the auditions and live eliminations!), the people (Kelly Clarkson and William Hung (famous for his interpretation of "She Bangs") and of course, the end result, a record deal! The show was revolutionary - for once, me, the consumer got to vote for an artist that I liked.

Fast forward seventeen (!) years, and I'm still a sucker for music competition shows (even though I'd argue there are too many out there). I've watched every flavor of reality singing competition show - "The Voice" (which still remains my favorite to this day), "America's Got Talent" and of course "American Idol." Further, I follow many of the winners as they progress in their career.

Even after all this time, I am still convinced that "American Idol" marked a turning point in the music industry - providing alternative pathways for artists to break into the industry and generate fans. But serialized television is not where the next wave of entertainers are being found. Despite prime time slots and a near guaranteed record deal for contestants, the true home of new entertainers has been…YouTube.

Yes! We return to "my one app," the app where I spend all my time and the topic of a previous blog post. Unbeknownst to many (some would argue, even YouTube in the beginning), what started out as a distribution platform for "stuff" (i.e. video reviews, karaoke, comedy, pranks/tricks) has morphed into an entertainment space full of young stars.

Recall celebrities like Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, Ed Sheeran, Carly Rae Jepsen or 5 Seconds of Summer? Yup, all of them were discovered or rose to prominence because of YouTube.

YouTube's success, however, is not limited to musically inclined individuals. In fact, it's the diversity of YouTube "creators" (as they call themselves) that's fascinating to watch.

You may think that music videos from the above mentioned individuals would be the top watched channels or have the most subscribers. Wrong!

According to a Digital Trends article published earlier this year, the most popular "channels" (locations where creators publish their content) are surprisingly diverse.

Most Popular YouTube Channels in 2019

1. T-Series (Music)

2. PewDiePie (Comedy/Entertainment)

3. 5-Minute Crafts (DIY)

4. Canal KondZilla (Entertainment)

5. Cocomelon (Kids)

Courtesy of Digital Trends

Where this gets really interesting is when you compare popular channels vs. paid creators. Why?

As Business Insider articulately put it "many popular YouTubers have been able to turn their personal brands into million-dollar businesses…"

That means that many creators have been able to make money outside of the videos (i.e. through ad revenue) they create. Before doubling clicking on those channels, here's the highest paid YouTubers in 2018.

Highest Paid YouTube Creators in 2018

1. Ryan ToysReview (Toy Reviewer)

2. Jake Paul (Comedy/Music)

3. Dude Perfect (Sports)

4. DanTDM (Gamer)

5. Jeffree Star (Beauty)

Yes, you read that correctly - Ryan, who is 7 years old, by the way, is the highest earning YouTuber from 2018. Ryan reviews toys. Although Ryan has 10M subscribers (for context, T-Series has 100+M subscribers and not in the top 5 mentioned above), he earned more $22M in 2018.

How did Ryan ToysReview take home the top prize? By expanding his revenue beyond the traditional viewership model (where he gets paid based upon the number of views). These non-traditional channels include:

Sponsored partnerships with companies like Hardees, Colgate (yes, the toothpaste), and Wonderful Halos.

Merchandise sales (in this case - toys! And some t-shirts)

Ryan's tactics are no longer unique to YouTube's creator community and has started to spill over to the mainstream entertainment industry.

An excellent example is Taylor Swift who released a new album last Friday, August 23. As part of the activities to generate fan excitement and increase revenues, over the past thirty days, she's moved into the following industries:

Fashion

Fashion line collaboration with Stella McCartney (available online and at her pop-up)

Physical Retail

Limited run New York City Pop-Up

Banking

Commercials/Partnership with Capital One

Fun fact - if you were a Capital One cardholder - you were able to "fast pass" the line (aka move to the front).

There's a lot of reasons why entertainers are moving away from the traditional revenue generating activities (i.e. record sales, tours, etc.) but many stem from the fact that YouTube is a platform built to distribute, not manage talent or content. This has become abundantly clear over the past months with heavily doctored, disturbing or fake videos surfacing on their website.

For creators, YouTube has continued to make changes to their payout policies. With all the change and uncertainty, many creators have looked for supplemental (and some may argue - more steady) income streams.

Even with the constant change - one thing is for certain, the creator movement is not a fad. The next round of entertainers will come from platforms like YouTube or TikTok. So, buckle your seat belts and get ready for the onslaught of the digital entertainers.