Okay, fine, YouTube figured out a way to make some money - and now it's boasting about it on both its Biz Blog and papa Google's main blog.
You see, the JK Wedding Entrance Dance video - surely you've heard of it, has made a bunch of millionaires even richer, and YouTube is rather chuffed.
In a blog post, titled "I now pronounce you monetized: a YouTube video case study", the company's technical accounts manager Chris LaRosa and music partner manager Ali Sandler, explain how the immensely popular video managed to boost mp3 sales for the Chris Brown track that played throughout the ludicrous scene.
Now as a full disclosure, I haven't actually seen the video. Due partly to the not-so-great PC I've been allotted here, which has some remarkable issues with YouTube (see photo) - and the fact that I've heard about the damn video so many times, that I feel that I can vaguely bluff my way through life with the basic facts: a wedding, some entertaining dancing (YouTube calls it "flat-out fun"), and a Chris Brown song. Good. Great.
Sigh.
In any case, JK Wedding Entrance Dance is nearing 13m views - pretty impressive, seeing how it's been online only a week and a half.
Using some clever video advertising tactics and YouTube's content management tools, the copyright holders for Chris Brown's song 'Forever' are expecting a windfall of cash.
An overlay click-to-buy campaign linked on the video, which gives viewers an opportunity to purchase the song on Amazon and iTunes, has resulted in 'Forever' launching to number four on iTunes and three on Amazon.
This traffic is also very engaged, YouTube said, the click-through rate on the "JK Wedding Entrance" video is twice the average of other click-to-buy overlays on the site.
And this newfound interest in downloading 'Forever' goes beyond the viral video itself: "JK Wedding Entrance Dance" also appears to have influenced the official 'Forever' music video, which saw its Click-to-Buy CTR increase by 2.5x in the last week.
Great work chaps.
Ooh, by the way, one little thing.
How frighteningly quickly the internet forgets, like a goldfish, they (we) are.
Was this not the same Chris Brown whom we lambasted and demanded repentance, boiling with (probably misplaced) anger, just a mere number of months ago, after shown photographic evidence of the bruised and beaten face of his girlfriend Rihanna, the end result of a particularly brutal row?
Now we're congratulating him - have a big pat on the back, now eh? - (and his holders) for making a few sideways bucks from an accidental viral sensation.
Stay classy, YouTube.
Dan, fwiw, the happy couple themselves state: "We hope to direct this positivity to a good cause. Due to the circumstances surrounding the song in our wedding video, we have chosen the Sheila Wellstone Institute. Sheila Wellstone was an advocate, organizer, and national champion in the effort to end domestic violence..."
http://www.jkweddingdance.com/
Really interesting article Dan and one I argument I have to admit I asked myself about when I viewed the video. I did however feel slightly more appeased when I saw that the video did ask for donations as cited above. It's just a shame that the most noticeable advertising and biggest story does surround the monetisation of the artist and not the cause for which the video stands.
Dan Leahul
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Member since: 10 Sep 2008
Last login: 30 Sep 2009
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