By no means are we implying that you โ the everyday person โ is guaranteed to generate a billion views on YouTube simply by following a formula youโve read online. But apparently there is a definite recipe for success.
At the time of writing this article, the top ten most viewed videos on YouTube are as follows:
- โDespacitoโ by Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee โ 6.61 billion
- โShape of Youโ by Ed Sheeran โ 4.59 billion
- โBaby Shark Danceโ by Pinkfong Kidsโ Songs & Stories โ 4.41 billion
- โSee You Againโ by Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth โ 4.38 billion
- Masha and the Bear โRecipe for Disasterโ by Get Movies โ 4.22 billion
- โUptown Funkโ by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars โ 3.76 billion
- โGangnam Styleโ by Psy โ 3.50 billion
- โSorryโ by Justin Bieber โ 3.24 billion
- โSugarโ by Maroon 5 โ 3.11 billion
- โRoarโ by Katy Perry โ 2.99 billion
And it doesnโt take a trained statistician to realise the common thread here โ with the exception of that one Russian cartoon episode in the number five position. That oneโs a little bit of a mystery to me (I just sincerely hope itโs not a weird fetish thing).
Music videos of worldwide hit songs
I know what youโre thinking. Reading this is like Googling โhow to get richโ and finding out you need to be born rich or secure a small loan of a million from daddy come graduation. But again, this is more of a learning experience than a manual for your own endeavours.
Nine of the ten top entrants are music videos from hit songs, and eight of those nine having charted on the pop charts for some time. This is due to the fact that more people listen to music on YouTube than anywhere else. Apparently more so than Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal combined according to Business Insider (not to be confused with YouTube Music).
This actually makes sense given thereโs no real paywall or experiential friction once youโve activated the old Adblocker. Being free, easily accessible, and widely known has its perks. Whatโs more, music videos are a digestible piece of content that provides the best of both worlds with a) the hit song itself, and b) an enhanced experience listening to the song thanks to the added visual element/interpretation of a self-contained narrative.
In other words โ a perfect content storm.
Rhythmic progression trends
In the past year or so, there has been a rhythmic progression trending in the pop charts. Something thatโs known as the โDembow rhythmโ.
Made famous by Shabba Ranks in the 90s, the โDembow rhythmโ owes its stylistic origins to reggaeton, dancehall, and dub. And while you might not have heard of the term โDembow rhythmโ, you will have certainly heard its highly syncopated calling card.
The video attached above paints a pretty good picture of what Iโm talking about.
An โinternationalโ element
We live in a global village. Thereโs no doubt about it. Incidentally, much of what contributes to a billion views on YouTube comes down to acknowledging the very global village we inhabit. Something the majority of the top-scoring entrants accomplish perfectly.
- โDespacitoโ and its enduring success to this day illustrates the weight of the Latin dance music market, opening the entire track with quintessentially Puerto Rican guitar plucks. A track backed by a quintessentially Latin music video.
- โShape of Youโ features the African kalimba very prominently, to the point where the song as we know it simply could not exist without the kalimba riff.
- None of us really knows the lyrics of โGangnam Styleโ or fully grasp the visuals weโre being fed in the music video. But its obnoxiously Korean flavour was what arguably made it a homerun nonetheless.
This even applies when we consider โBaby Sharkโ and Masha the Bear, both videos respectively hail from South Korea and Russia. Granted, they skyrocketed to fame due to their obscurity turned mass novelty โ but the fact stands that thereโs a whole lot more potential to access when an international element is involved. A reach that is beyond your immediate culture, after all, is one not to be ignored.
Essentially, never underestimate the power of music โ nor the popularity of YouTube as its source โ when it comes to generating views on YouTube.
You can watch the original video this article has been based on via Business Insider.
Related: YouTuber MrBeast Reveals He Spends $65 Million A Year Making His Videos
