YouTube UK Blog: 2016

#MadeForYou

Sunday, 6 November 2016

An engine for your creativity and a home for your culture.
Each year in the UK, we work with a handful of YouTube creators and celebrate the fact they took to YouTube to tell their stories. In the past, we’ve used these campaigns to call out the uniqueness of a creator’s voice, like VICE, or the ingenuity of their storytelling, like Copa90, or the breathtaking breadth of their appeal, like Zoella. Mostly, we’ve used this moment to celebrate the talent and tenacity of the people and channels who’ve done it entirely on their own, and resolutely, in their own way.

This year, when we thought about who to spotlight, we tied ourselves in knots. Which creator? Which channel? Who’s emblematic of the platform? Who’s super fly? Who’s funky fresh!? And every time we got close to making a decision, we felt like we were missing something really important. The fact being: a focus on one or two creators is the tip of a creative iceberg; the tip of a universe of popular culture that’s driven by you, users and creators. There are close to 200 UK-based channels that have over a million subscribers each. Each! Great Britain’s YouTube stars rank on influence lists that feature Presidents, Olympians and Hollywood royalty. And the content created on YouTube is at the cutting-edge of pop culture, exposing us to new passions, new trends and new faces, daily.
Should we spotlight Joe Sugg, whose Whisper Challenge is now a global phenomenon picked up as a regular bit by Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show? Do we call out Humza Arshad who, aside from being plain funny, is using his mega-popularity to spread a message of positivity and peace. Or do we go big on Dina Tokio, who’s taking a totally new type of content - modest fashion - to the masses? We hair pulled. We beard stroked. And finally, we had a brainwave.

There’s no one story that can sum up YouTube - we’re what users and creators make us. You decide what is important. You set the agenda. We are #madeforyou. Which incidentally, is this campaign’s name and we’ve built it around as many creators as we can decently fit into one spot. Eighteen to be precise: Colin, Dina, Humza, Suli, Caspar, Scola, Oli, Kaushal, TomSka, Jemma, Vikkstar, Joe, Patricia, Emma, Lindy, Louise, Marcus and Tanya. Some you’ll already know and love; some you might not yet. But between them, they’ve racked up over 48 million subscribers to their channels - and they couldn’t be more different. From mad scientists to spoken word poets, they reflect the vitality of the UK’s creative spirit and the diversity of our tastes. Which feels like a lot to celebrate. So forgive us for breaking with our own tradition on this one. And for going a little overboard. But it felt like a fittingly YouTube thing to do.
Rich Waterworth, Director of YouTube Marketing in EMEA recently watched Caspar Lee’s Singing Lessons w/Justin Timberlake & Anna Kendrick.
#MadeForYou

That’s music to my ears: watch the BRITs live on YouTube

Thursday, 18 February 2016

Jarvis Cocker crashing Michael Jackson’s performance. Madonna’s badly behaved cape. Sam Smith silencing a whole arena with his incredible voice. The BRIT Awards with MasterCard has given us some of the most memorable moments in music history. For the third year, you can watch this must-view music moment streamed live on the BRITs channel if you’re based outside of Great Britain. Just tune in at youtube.com/Brits on whatever screen you find yourself closest to: mobile, tablet or TV.

Some of your favorite YouTube stars will be there live to bring you yet more action. YouTube stars Dan & Phil will present the official BRITs YouTube live stream featuring backstage action and more fun and games. Kingsley will be on the red carpet, rubbing shoulders with the biggest stars as they arrive to create more content for the BRITs YouTube channel.
And what stars! This year, international artists like Rihanna will join breakthrough British artists like James Bay for an unforgettable night of live performances. Not one, but TWO holders of YouTube’s prestigious “billion views” club will also perform: Adele and Justin Bieber. That’s alongside live performances from Coldplay, Jess Glynne, Little Mix and The Weeknd. After the live broadcast, individual artists will upload their performances to their own YouTube channels for you to relive again and again, plus there will be catch-up content on the BRITs channel itself.
So, tune in on February 24 at 3 p.m. ET to the official BRITs channel, kick back and as they say in good ol’ Great Britain, prepare yourselves for a right royal knees-up.
Christophe Muller, Head of International Music Partnerships at YouTube and Google Play Music, just watched “Dan and Phil’s Wheel of Wonder With Jack Garrett | BRIT Awards 2016.

YouTube/BRITs www.brits.co.uk#BRITs