YouTube for Artists: How To Claim Your Official Channel
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Written by Ramsey Brown.
The world of music has completely changed due to the evolution of technology and the emergence of streaming platforms. The internet is undoubtedly one of the best tools musicians can utilize to showcase their work, interact with fans, promote their content, and monetize from their music. There are numerous different ways musicians can develop their brands and establish their careers online. However, you must be hungry and driven enough to get out there and find these opportunities because the chance of fame just falling onto your lap is highly unlikely.
We’ve all heard of someone being ‘social media famous’ — and even though this was a title that some would previously laugh at, it is now an extremely lucrative field that many people make their careers out of today. The capabilities that the internet and social media hold in store today is tremendous, especially for music artists.
Though there are many different platforms that artists blow up on every single day, there is one in particular that stands out among the rest — YouTube. This online video sharing and social media platform has been responsible for the fame of artists such as Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, Tori Kelley, and many others. Some may say these artists got lucky and were just at the right place at the right time, but truthfully they dedicated themselves to the platform and continuously uploaded content that fans loved.
However, it’s still not as easy as it seems. Before you can go viral on YouTube and jump start your music career, you’ll need to first grow your fanbase and take the proper steps to ensure your artist channel is set up to get the most out of YouTube and YouTube music. The best way to do this? By claiming your Official Artist Channel today.
In this article, we are going to discuss what exactly an Official Artist Channel on YouTube is. In addition, we are going to share advice on how to use the world’s #1 streaming platform to your artistic advantage, so you can hopefully then join the list of others who found fame through YouTube. Keep reading to find out more!
What is an YouTube Official Artist Channel?
An Official Artist Channel (OAC) offers you an easier way to manage content, increase your popularity, gain followers/subscribers, and create viral content on YouTube. Without an official artist channel, your account would not receive as many benefits as those who had an OAC. You would also not have the same visibility or have access to some of the incredible features that come with an official channel.
Benefits of an Official Artist Channel:
Some people believe that getting an official artist channel is all about having that prized blue tick mark beside your profile name. Although the blue tick is a great benefit to have, there are many more upgrades you will receive than just that. Below we are going to share some of the main benefits to having a Verified or Official Artist Account on YouTube:
1. More Visibility on the Platform
With an Official Artist Channel, your channel will appear as a box on the right-hand side when people search for you on YouTube. This box includes an automatically created “mix” of your music content on YouTube, as well as a list of your top ten songs and a showcase for your albums. This feature can keep people listening to your music for extended periods of time, creating more engaged fans & easier listening experience.
This is essentially like having a free advertisement on YouTube. An Official Artist Channel also gives you the chance to be featured on YouTube’s Artists on the Rise. This is yet another exclusive feature available for those who have an OAC, giving artists the opportunity to be showcased by YouTube and reach more viewers.
2. Organized Content
An OAC isn't a new channel, it's a new YouTube content design. You do not have to worry about having to create a new channel from scratch to verify yourself on YouTube, but they will implement the official status within your original account. With an OAC, you can present a more professional and clearer image as an artist, in addition to clarifying the order and arrangement on YouTube of all your music, to consolidate yourself even more in your OAC.
OAC's layout displays all your hits, videos, and content catalog in easier Album sections, and your official music videos are collected as a playlist that appears at the top of your channel, making it easier for your viewers to listen to your biggest hits.
The differences in terms of aesthetics and channel design aren't very different between an OAC and the previous channel you've been managing until now, but the first one adds some more details:
• A customizable header image on top.
• Different customizable video sections for new viewers and subscribers.
• Customizable shelf to promote the best videos, tracks, and hits you want people to see more.
• Locked album and music video sections.
• Full control of the sections. You can fill them with whatever you want: Playlists, UGC, content from other artists on YouTube, etc.
3. Better Fan Engagement
Having an official channel means that most of the fan engagement will happen all in one place. This makes it easy for you to check activity, chat and reward the best fans, and more. Always remember to take a look at your latest tracks to know what people think of the song, your style, or other aspects that help you evolve as an emerging artist.
Also, with an official artist account, fans will have no problem finding your actual real profile. Oftentimes fans will create fan accounts or post your videos on their personal profiles — which then leads users listening to your music on channels that aren’t actually yours. With an OAC, you will be the first to appear when your name is searched and there will be no question on if your account is the real one or a fan-made account.
4. Artist Analytics
Artist Analytics shows you your top songs and overall views. This feature gives you a clear insight into what your audience enjoys and what type of music you might want to make more of. Some of the most helpful aspects of this feature include audience retention data, subscriber data, click-through rates, and average views per viewer. Now this all may sound confusing, but it’s a lot more simple than it seems.
Once you get your official channel, all of this information and analytics can be easily viewed in the YouTube Studio app. You can find out where and how fans are discovering your music, including geographical data and individual performance of all your videos. All of this is extremely useful in order to grow your presence and popularity on the platform.
5. Artist Press Kit
Artist Press Kits are useful for any artist or band to have. It is essentially a group of promotional materials for artists to send out for publicity & promotion. This can help you book shows, get on blogs, promote your music, and more.
With YouTube’s Press Kit feature, it gives artists a place to upload pictures that show up on google search, YouTube search, YouTube music charts, YouTube Music app, and more. Be sure to keep these pictures relevant to your overall brand as an artist. Aside from just photos, YouTube lets you create a biography to describe who you are as an artist. This can all be done through ‘YouTube Studio’ and is yet another feature that will help increase your overall visibility on the platform.
Becoming Eligible for a YouTube OAC
Now that you understand some of the benefits of having an Official Artist Account, the next thing you must do before acquiring one is to make sure you are even eligible. Below we explain the requirements and criteria as shown on their website:
Own and operate a YouTube channel that represents one artist or band
Have at least 3 official releases on YouTube delivered and distributed by a music distributor or label
Have no policy violations on your channel
Also, you will need one or more of the following:
Work with some YouTube Partner Manager
Be on YouTube's Partner Program
Your channel has to be part of a label working with a Partner Manager
Your music should be distributed by a listed Music Services Partners
Applying for Your YouTube OAC
In order to meet the requirements shown above, you will have to send your music to one of YouTube’s official distributors mentioned on their website. After uploading your music with one of their partners, it then goes directly to YouTube and the rest of the main streaming platforms to gain fame and recognition.
Once you have three videos that have been distributed by one of their official partners, then you can begin the next steps of applying for your YouTube OAC:
Go to the YouTube For Artists page.
Select an artist in the dropdown menu (Note: only eligible artists will be shown).
You will then be sent to YouTube to log into your YouTube account. This should be the account you want to be associated with that artist.
After successfully logging in, a request will be sent to YouTube to authorize this request.
You’ll receive an acknowledgment email confirming your request was received within the next 48 hours.
Note: The process of getting approved for an OAC usually takes a little over one month, so don’t get discouraged if they haven’t accepted you immediately.
My YouTube OAC is Approved, Now What?
Once you’ve gotten approved for your Official Artist Channel, it's time to tap in and start exploring all of the new tools, features, and benefits that come along with this fantastic status.
Your OAC will simplify your life on YouTube. Channel management and video uploading will be much easier. Meaning, you'll have more time to make the best music, talk to your subscribers, and increase the views on the platform. Now that you have ONE place to manage everything that happens on your YouTube channel, hopefully you’ll begin seeing some rapid progress in growing your YouTube audience as well.
Now with your OAC, it will be much easier for you to promote your music and increase your chances of having a viral music video. If you want to take your promotion even further, it is always a great idea to get the help of a professional and legitimate music marketing company to help push your content to the next level. At Omari MC, we specialize in YouTube optimization and growing followers, likes, subscribers, and overall visibility on the platform.
Oftentimes, artists have great music and great music videos that don’t seem to catch the attention they deserve. With Omari MC, we add marketing elements to your videos/channel to encourage listeners to subscribe and engage. We design a personalized campaign based on your brand and goals in order to make the most out of your content.
To learn more about our YouTube optimization and promotion services, check out our website or schedule a one-on-one consultation call with us today!
When your song is ready to go, it's time to start promoting it to potential fans! Omari has the best organic promotion services money can buy. With packages for Spotify, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, we will get your music the traffic and attention it deserves! Click below for more information.
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© 2023 Omari MC, LLC. All Rights Reserved.