"Vicious Battle Raps" has been on YouTube for about a year now.
The video is a one take, one shot of Toronto MC Abdominal rapping about town with a cast of wacky characters used as props. The song is from DJ Format's 2003 album "Music for the Mature B-Boy".
Over the last year, the YouTube clip has garnered a fairly respectable 58,000 views, with about 100 comments. In early March 2008, the video garnered a spot on the YouTube homepage. After commanding the prime real estate for just two days, the views jumped to close to 300,000, with over 1,000 comments.
And the hype wasn't just limited to YouTube either, relates Abdominal. "I saw a trickle-down effect onto my MySpace page where plays and friend requests went a little bonkers as well. I guess the people who really liked what they saw on YouTube took the time to Google me."
MC Abdominal's 'Vicious Battle Raps' garnered a fairly respectable 58,000 views until it was posted to YouTube's home page in March 2008. After commanding the prime real estate for just two days, the views jumped to nearly 300,000. (Dan Bergeron/Special to The Globe and Mail)
Videos
The second annual YouTube Video Awards were handed out to the top user-created videos of 2007
With thousands and thousands of YouTube videos showcasing everything from promo to ego, it can be hard to find something good. Overwhelmed, most users are dependent on word of mouse links and homepage suggestions.
According to YouTube, vids that appear in the "Featured Videos" section on the homepage are chosen through a variety of ways.
"While users can directly send videos to us for consideration, they also can rate and share videos to help make them popular on the site," says a YouTube spokesperson. "Our editorial team views the videos that users have found compelling and made popular, and a selection of these are featured on the homepage."
Abdominal's video was selected for the YouTube homepage (U.S. and Canada) by Billy Reid of verytasteful.com, who YouTube tapped to pick his favourites for the hot spot. Reid is a Toronto based artist who creates original quirky music videos that have earned him a YouTube fan base, like the popular " White Chicks & Gang Signs." Reid made a conscious effort to select Canadian videos, especially ones that haven't been showcased on YouTube.
YouTube is popular place. According to Nielsen NetRatings, the site had 67.5 million unique users in the U.S. in January and was the 6th most-trafficked destination.
So what does the YouTube homeboy exposure mean for an indie rapper like Abdominal?
"Well, unfortunately I can't pay my landlord with exposure," he jokes. "But that said, exposure is still essential. The net is so over-saturated with music and really content in general, that anything that can help push your stuff to the forefront is invaluable."
Reid wasn't paid to be a selector, but sees great value in putting videos on YouTube and getting his name and channel on the homepage. "For someone like myself, it's just a great promotional tool," explains Reid. "People go to YouTube, that's the go-to site."
Reid says he was strategic with his own YouTube videos. It was a branding exercise for him to branch out from his own website. "All of my videos have my website clearly labelled on the videos, and also I've customized the channel so it's very much like my website."
Very Tasteful videos are also featured in the promoted videos section, next to videos from other YouTube partnerships. The video in the top right-hand corner of the YouTube homepage is purchased by advertisers for a 24-hour window, where as promoted videos are selected from partner content according to YouTube. CBC is also a partner with YouTube.
The team over at The Hour actively decided they wanted to be on YouTube and created an official channel, the first CBC program to do such a thing. YouTube noticed the page and approached The Hour with a "Premium Content Provider" partnership opportunity. The Hour's online producer Paul McGrath said it "made sense," and The Hour is now sharing revenue from the channel.
"The people who go to YouTube aren't necessarily going to CBC or The Hour," says McGrath. "Certain websites have traffic and a fan base, YouTube being one of them." He says posting clips from the program on YouTube allows The Hour to reach "customers on a different planet."
Despite the homepage promotion for The Hour, McGrath says it's still about TV. "YouTube isn't paying my bills. The TV show is paying me." Compared to TV ratings, YouTube numbers aren't that impressive. "It's still a fraction of the audience, but it's an important fraction," admits McGrath.
In fact, the fraction is the next/Net generation, which is moving away from TV toward YouTube and iTunes because of choice. But choice can be overwhelming. In 1992 Bruce Springsteen sang about 57 channels and nothin' on. In 2008, there are more than 57,000 YouTube channels and it can still feel like nothing's on. This is what makes the YouTube homepage so valuable.
"Everyone wants to be on the main page," says Reid. After the Very Tasteful picks were posted on the YouTube homepage, Reid received hundreds of e-mails from people asking to be featured.
"Everyone wants people to see their stuff, otherwise they wouldn't be on YouTube."
Jennifer Hollett is a broadcast journalist and freelance writer.
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