Dancehall superstar Sean Paul has the most popular YouTube channel from Jamaica as of July 2022 according to World Music Views Data.
YouTube is the second most popular website in Jamaica and it’s the place where music is consumed the most. Music channels also represent the highest Jamaican content consumption worldwide.
Sean Paul, who recently released his Island Records album Scorcha, has the largest viewership by a Jamaican and 4.19 million subscribers on the platform according to Statista. Bob Marley is the No. 2 most subscribed Jamaican Youtube channel with 3.07 million.
At No. 3 is “Vybz Kartel Radio” which has 2.59 million subscribers up to the time of publication.
Producer Rvssian comes in at Number 4 with 2.37 million subs, Damian Marley is at No. 5 with 2.3 million, and dancehall Princess Shenseea has the most subscribed channel by a female artist. She comes in 6th overall with 2.29 million subs. Shaggy lands at No. 7 with 2.14 million subscribers.
Football channel “JavierNathaniel” is at No. 8 with 1.97 million and Alkaline lands at No. 9 with 1.93 million subscribers respectively.
Rounding out the top ten is Koffee with 1.56 million and Popcaan has 1.4 million subscribers.
Locally, if you go to any hairdresser, barbershop, hotel or convenience store chances are they will have YouTube music videos on Tv screens for entertainment. The site offers audio-visual as well as visual audio content. YouTube music capabilities have been a game-changer for the Jamaican music industry. The only drawback for YouTube in Jamaica is there is no access to YouTube Music app that allows for music downloads and closed screen access.
Last June YouTube Music’s global CEO Lyor Cohen reported that the platform paid out 4 billion dollars to artists over the last 12 months.
In a June 2 letter, Cohen stated that, “I’m so proud to share that YouTube has paid over $4 billion to the music industry in the last 12 months alone and has added more paid members in Q1 ’21 than in any other quarter since launch.”
Over the last year, World Music Views discovered that within the Caribbean, more artists than ever streamed more than one hundred million times, with both established and new artists clocking over 15 million or more views with a single video or ‘visual–audio’ content on YouTube.
Sean Paul’s music has been played 1.21 billion times on YouTube in the last year, setting a four year record of being the most streamed Jamaican artist on the platform.
His “Go Dung Deh” collaborator Shaggy’s music has been streamed 517 million times over the same period. Bob Marley posthumously rides high on YouTube with 679 million streams in the last year.
Skillibeng’s original Whap Whap which has become a phenomenon in places like New York due to a remix with French Montana and Fivio Foreign has surpassed 18 million views since its release 4 months ago.
Damian Marley, in commenting on YouTube and streaming’s impact on Caribbean music, told World Music Views that, “Streaming has validated the music in the region”.
Unlike other platforms, YouTube allows users to create content and monetize it and if music is used then the money goes to the artist or rights owner. “Music comes to life in so many ways across YouTube and YouTube Music. Both premium music content and user-generated content (UGC) are growing and driving significant value back to the industry,” Lyor Cohen assured.
Over 30 percent of the 4 billion dollars paid out by YouTube for music was for fan made music related content.
World Music Views, YouTube chart show on Television, and podcast, has been carrying the hottest songs and music videos in Jamaica, Canada, UK and US every week since April 2018.
Lyor further stated, “Whether it’s the premiere of the hottest new music video on your TV, a throwback playing on your Google Home when you ask for music that makes you smile, or the latest viral dance challenge, revenue is generated for artists, songwriters, and rights-holders”.
Lila Iké stated recently on Taking Stock by Kalilah Reynolds that streaming has helped her to get seen by audiences globally but she does not see much of the revenue from Spotify and Tidal because she doesn’t own her masters and her core audiences are not yet hip to the platform.
She said without a touring schedule she has to rely on dubplates and YouTube revenue, “If you look at the streaming platforms you don’t earn a lot from that because not a lot of my core audiences are into all these other platforms like Spotify and Tidal. For me it boils down to the royalties. With YouTube with people watching the videos and all of that and YouTube being monetized you get a certain level of income there…with the (other) streaming platforms a lot of people are to be paid before it gets to me…we are now signed to a label so they are also involved in getting out of all of that before it gets to me”.
Reggae-Dancehall artists and other content makers in the region can look forward to more ways to make money through YouTube in the near future. Using Korean K-pop groups as a template Lyor said artists will soon be able to monetize more things around their music.
“We’re continuing to innovate with direct-to-fan products such as ticketing, merch, memberships, paid digital goods, and virtual ticketed events. BLACKPINK’s paid virtual concert – THE SHOW – sold nearly 280,000 channel memberships across 81 countries and helped the group earn 2.7 million new subscribers to their official artist channel”.
