YouTube Music tests a Spotify-like ‘monthly audience’ stat for artists across formats
What you need to know
- YouTube Music detailed the start of its new “monthly audience” metric for fans on an artist’s page.
- This statistic will involve more than just song listens on YouTube Music as the metric will grab video and Short views, collaboration views, and other content.
- YouTube Music’s recent string of tests has involved AI, particularly its latest “restyle” test for 30-second AI-created clips.
YouTube Music is testing an interesting new stat for its artist pages, reminiscent of another platform.
The company detailed its latest test in a support page, stating it’s “exploring new ways to show an artist’s presence and reach.” YouTube Music explains this new “monthly audience” metric as a “fan-facing, public” statistic that will appear (for some) on an artist’s discography page. Interestingly, the number of “unique” listeners won’t come from YouTube Music alone.
The platform states that its experimental monthly audience stat concerns those who’ve listened to their music (obviously). However, this metric broadens its reach to the main YouTube video service, too. The explainer states that “non-music” content created by the artist will fall into this monthly metric. Additionally, views on long-form and short-form videos created/uploaded by the artist “or their label” count toward the “monthly listeners.”
Elsewhere, YouTube states collaborations with an artist featured on other channels and videos/Shorts created by content creators using their music will factor into this number.
The post extends its reach to the YouTube Kids app, as well, for displaying how far an artist’s “reach” goes.
It seems that YouTube Music will refresh this monthly audience statistic every “28 days.”
Users may be familiar with a similar stat as Spotify also prominently features its “monthly listeners” number for artists. There is some overlap as Spotify states it refreshes the number every 28 days, as well. However, the company breaks that number into three “segments:” active audience, previously active, and programmed. The first are those actively listening most days with “previously active” regarding those who haven’t in the past 28 days, but may still listen “from programmed sources.”
The final segment involves listeners from “editorial playlists, Discover Weekly, Radio, Autoplay,” and more.
The recently started YouTube Music test seems a little more tame compared to its trend toward AI via “restyle.” With Dream Track access, content creators were given time with an AI-based feature that lets them “restyle” a song and turn it into a 30-second clip. This test lets users describe the feeling (mood) and genre of the new, restyled song they’d like.
