Is YouTube Killing Music Piracy?

For years the top record label executives have been claiming that it's impossible to compete with free, but YouTube is proving them wrong. With billions of views every month the major record labels are making millions by sharing their music for free. For many people YouTube takes away the incentive to 'pirate,' but at the same time it may also cannibalise legal music sales. The music industry has witnessed some dramatic changes in recent years, even when piracy is left out of the picture. We’ve previously documented how people moved from buying albums to buying singles. If we go back in time 5 or 6 years, people had only one option if they wanted to listen to their favorite artists online without paying for the pleasure. Although true music aficionados are hard to please, the majority of the public appreciates the option of listening to their favorite tunes for free on YouTube. But what about the record labels, are they happy too? That’s great news for the labels right?

YouTube Is Looking For The Next Vlogging Star YouTube is announcing a new program to nurture the next generation of video bloggers. The Next Vlogger initiative is part of YouTube Next Creator — where, as the name implies, the site tries to find and mentor future YouTube stars. It already held similar programs for cooking and fitness, as well as nonprofits. Creative program manager Austin Lau says he’s looking for vloggers who have already “put in some time trying to make YouTube work” and built a following, but who aren’t quite top-tier stars. Ezarik tells me that she sees this as an extension of the mentorship that she’s already doing through her show Vlog University. Ezarik has parlayed her YouTube stardom into assorted TV appearances, so she says she’s often asked whether YouTube leads to bigger things. Once the Next Vlogger program is complete, Lau says he’s hoping the participants, in addition to becoming super-famous, will serve as “ambassadors to the greater YouTube community,” who share what they’ve learned.