The logo of the music streaming app Youtube music is seen on a mobile screen and a laptop screen. ... [+]
Back in the 1980s more than a few teens likely proclaimed "I want my MTV" – but today the channel that once had nothing but 24/7 music videos is now home to reality shows and little in the way of music. There are probably a few teens today who don't know that the "M" actually stood for "Music."
Today's teens also forgo even the subset MTV channels that actually show videos. Instead the viewers are more likely younger Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers, who tune in for the grainy videos for nostalgia sake. For new videos, as well as the classic tunes, Google-owned YouTube is the place to go.
According to a new study from Piper Jaffray teens spent 37% of their daily video consumption on YouTube, ahead of Netflix, which came in at 35%. The market research firm attributed this to YouTube's "wide array of teen-oriented content" that includes not only music videos, but also video games related content, social media influences and various how-to videos.
Still, YouTube's appeal for music fans isn't limited to Generation Z. While it was first shunned by record companies, which didn't like to see old videos recorded off the aforementioned MTV posted, today the music industry has seen YouTube as an important way to promote music.
"YouTube brings music videos, lyrics, and backstage access to music fans," explained Josh Crandall, principal analyst at Netpop Research.
"After listening to a new hit, it's possible to find it on YouTube and see how the artist envisions the best way to present it," Crandall added.
After watching a video viewers can explore related titles and styles.
"It's just so easy to drop into the rabbit hole of music discovery today," said Crandall. "For example, the Black Eyed Peas came out with a new song recently called 'The New Wave.' I enjoyed it so much that I watched the video and then spent two hours watching all of their videos. I was thrilled to see how the group matured over a couple of decades of music making."
Oldies But Goodies
Crandall is clearly not the only one who will admit to going down the rabbit hole of music exploration, and clearly a lot of people are watching a lot of videos. Just this week it was announced that heavy metal rockers Guns N' Roses became the first band to have a video from the 1980s rock all the way to YouTube's Billion Views Club with 1987's "Sweet Child O' Mine."
What makes this especially notable is that GNR had already reached the Billion milestone for its 1992 video epic "November Rain," which last year became the first video from the 1990s to reach one billion views mark. As of this month it has surpassed 1.2 billion views and shows no signs of slowing down.
It isn't just the heavy metal thunder that is getting people to click play either.
For the 1980s, Norwegian pop band A-Ha's "Take On Me" has just over 943 million views, while the unusual Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" has been viewed more than 786 million times followed by The Police's "Every Breath You Take" at 669 million and the Michael "The King of Pop" Jackson with just under 700 million views for "Billie Jean."
The 1990s has an equally diverse/eclectic mix of videos. After "November Rain," grunge rockers Nirvana followed with nearly 970 million views for their hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit," and Irish alt rockers The Cranberries with 962 million views for "Zombie." Whitney Houston's cover of the Dolly Parton ballad "I Will Always Love You," has been viewed nearly 860 million times, and the alt band 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up" has been clicked on 765 million times.
Perhaps it should be noted that in the case of the 1990s, the lead singers for Nirvana and The Cranberries, as well as Houston have all taken their final bows. Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994, while Ms. Houston passed away in 2012 and Dolores O'Riordan died in 2018.
The Cranberries are the first Irish band to reach a combined billion views on YouTube, and its hit "Zombie" – a protest song about the Troubles in Ireland – still averages more than 360,000 views daily. The biggest single day jump was 8.9 million on January 15, 2018 – the day O'Riordan passed away.
Clearly in the case of The Cranberries and Whitney Houston tragedy has helped the clicks, but this shouldn't be surprising as deaths of musicians have always caused sales of their music to spike. As for Nirvana, the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" could certainly be the anthem to the early 1990s so again there should be no surprise that it has reached such popularity.
What is also noteworthy is that even in its music video heyday it is unlikely any video was ever seen 8.9 million times in a single day!
Another Blast From The Past
Perhaps the only really surprising aspect of what has reached a billion views is that GNR beat out Queen's iconic 1975 mega-hit "Bohemian Rhapsody," which only this past summer reached the mark. Even YouTube was quick to note that the song's video is "generally recognized as the first-ever promotional music video."
The song, which had seen its first resurgence in the early 1990s following the release of the film Wayne's World, hit the charts again following the aptly named Queen biography film – Bohemian Rhapsody – that came out late last year.
YouTube even embraced this milestone moment by releasing a remastered HD version of the video on the band's channel, and included the lyrics in English, Spanish, Italian, French, Japanese, Polish, German, Indonesian Bahasa, Korean, Czech, Russian and Turkish!
Catch Ya On The B Side
Given enough time, and enough clicks, more songs will surely reach the billion views milestone. But in the meantime, YouTube will still be the place for new and upcoming artists to gain exposure and for music fans to embrace forgiven music as well.
"It is so simple to get into a band's style and discovering the lost hits and B-sides, turn on captions, and you can get the lyrics too," said Crandall. "It's an amazing way to experience the evolution of a band, an easy way to share what you like with friends and show off just how much you know."
