What the YouTube Awards are all about
Due to the massive popularity and widespread usage of YouTube, an award ceremony was established in 2007 as a way to reward the best videos of the previous year. They were awarded to the winners of different categories, not only as a way to recognize the most views but also those which resonate best with the public.
As the Music category was such a big part of these awards, welcoming parody songs as well as professional recordings into the mix, YouTube has decided to produce its own Music Awards which concentrate on the various areas of the music video industry. They were first held in November 2013 under the YTMA acronym.
The YouTube Music Awards
On November 3rd 2013, the first annual YouTube Music Awards were held at New York City’s Pier 36 and were broadcast live on the website itself. Impressively, despite it being the opening ceremony, it still attracted some massive names from the world of music including Arcade Fire, Lady Gaga, M.I.A and Eminem.
Unlike regular music awards, prizes were given out to artists or songs that have made an impact on the internet as well as in the charts. Categories included Breakthrough of the Year, Video of the Year and Artist of the Year which was won by Eminem. Another standout category was the YouTube Phenomenon which was given to the many video responses to Taylor Swift’s track “I Knew You Were Trouble”.
Whereas you may get the feeling that other popular awards ceremonies are manipulated for certain artists gain more exposure, the YTMA’s will recognise acts from all over the world and not just the U.S or Europe. For example, the South Korean group Girls’ Generation fended off competition from other more established acts to win the Video of the Year accolade in 2013.
Determining the winners is done exclusively online in a term described as social voting. During the live 2013 YTMA show, voting for each specific category took place when fans posted the relevant links of their favourite videos onto their personal Facebook, Twitter or Google+ page. The video with the most posts was announced to be the winner of that category.
Overall, the first YouTube Music Awards were a success. Attracting established and global superstars to the awards was a major coup for YouTube and showed its importance to the industry. The site is the most widely used search engine for music on the internet and number one listening platform for younger music fans also. Record companies recognise this and tailor their artists to produce the most appealing videos they can. For new artists YouTube is also important, becoming a potential way-in to a notoriously overcrowded industry.
This goes to show that video is still a massive part of the music industry and YouTube is leading this by being the go-to avenue for music fans to check out the latest videos. There is a huge requirement for more people to create digital video and become part of the fastest growing entertainment industry.
For more information on video creation and the music industry, visit these sites: