Youtube: Benchmark for a hit song?

Manpriya Singh 

While Nagpur-bred singer Ishaan Khan’s first song, Lakk Boom Boom, garnered only one million views within a month of its release he wasn’t taking any chances with his second one. Titled Doggy, and featuring a doggy, well, among others, this one clocked a million views within 24 hours of its release on YouTube! 

“Everyone has a mobile and everyone who has a mobile has access to YouTube now. That’s entertainment on the go and that’s the reach of YouTube,” shares singer Ishaan Khan, just a little after the launch of his song.  Having grown up listening to Punjabi music, it’s not a surprise that he is eventually singing them. “Not just this, in fact, two to three more songs in the language are in the pipeline.” 

Like a resume

Let alone for an artiste, from a production house to a record label, YouTube matters.  Agrees pop singer  Vasuda Sharma, who started her musical journey with Channel V’s band Aasma, “In today’s time, when the digital medium is the most popular one in terms of consuming content, YouTube does hold a lot of importance in a singer’s career. It is almost like a resume for the credibility of an artiste. The social media standing also helps an artiste get new opportunities.” 

Having just released first EP album BeDesi with her band Sharma and the Besharams, she is excited about the four singles featuring folk element and Indian instruments. But having released the album across all music platforms didn’t complete the whole picture, which is why a video will be out by the end of this month. 

Great reach

While there’s no denying the reach of the medium, but the cutthroat number game is what sometimes doesn’t add up.  “For a song to be successful it starts from at least a million or two million views or so. But yes, around four to five million genuine views would be considered a successful song,” opines singer Kunal Pandit, who has released as many as three solo singles and videos.    

He adds, “If you have a label backing you up, whether your song deserves to be that successful or not, your song will be a hit. But it’s a different ball-game now. How we consider a song successful - only by seeing the views and not even experiencing the song with your own senses. Or, judging by its musical values and not finding out whether the views are genuine or not.” 

Adds Vasuda Sharma, “A million views in a day’s time are considered remarkable. However, in today’s era, a few million views in a week’s time has become a common thing. And something like that in my knowledge is not all organic. Some are bought, while some are definitely gathered through ads on YouTube. So, regardless of how the content is, if there is money to pump in, you can have your desired number of a few million to show success. As they say… Jo dikhta hai, Woh bikta hai.”

manpriya@tribunemail.com

The number game 

Bollywood playback singer Ankit Tewari never really understood the number game. “I don’t understand how they manage 300 plus, 500 plus and even 700 plus million views.” He cites from personal example, “If you look at my songs Galliyan or Sun Raha Tu, they are immensely popular on a national scale, yet they don’t have the numbers to cite as compared to so many upcoming artistes and comparatively less popular tracks.” 

While we do the math on number there is no denying the exponential reach of the medium, which even a successful playback singer like him can’t resist. “Famous songs in movies as singer or a composer can fetch you fame and respect but not the same level of fame is accorded to your face. It’s only for your voice.” Now YouTube changed that. “Very few artistes earlier would be signed on by record labels, you had to come to Mumbai and struggle for decades before someone slotted you for a music video. All that has changed. Because of social media and technology, you can produce, star and release music at your will.” 

Of Premium & paid 

And ever since YouTube Music and YouTube Premium services at play in the  Indian market ever since the first quarter of the year, the platform has only gone luxe.  And also exact, a platform where the number of views will match up to the popularity of a song. “Think of YouTube Music as the music streaming application, available in two variants, free and premium. Premium services are subscription based and ad free and that is where one cannot gather number of views through adverts placed in YouTube,” adds Aseem Mittal, who manages a record label. “Moreover, since offline viewing  and listening is available, in the future the numbers on these platforms will give a much more accurate view of a song’s popularity.”  And if you are destined to climb up the number game, you will.  And who knows this better than singer Shreya Sharma, currently high on the success of Prada, starring Alia Bhatt. The song is composed, written and co-sung by Doorbeen (of Lamborghini fame). But honestly she admits to YouTube being something she was anxious about when Prada released. “YouTube is definitely something that crosses our mind. The other factors that come into play are streaming platforms to get an idea of how many people are listening to it in their daily lives.” But, thankfully, she refuses to quantify. “I’m not really a numbers person. Success is defined by your effort and the song’s success is decided by the response it gets from the public. Some songs do much better on streaming platforms than on YouYube. A song is a success only if people are listening to it and connecting with it.”