The Economics Of Being Youtube’s #1 Video

December 9, 2012 in Daily Bulletin

Derek Thompson outlined the economics of Gangnam Style, the Korean music sensation that we’ve covered before, and which has recently been embroiled in controversy:

  • With over 900 million views the upbeat video is the most viewed video in the entire history of YouTube. Yet this has made Psy, the artist behind it, just $870,000.
  • This comes out to a measly 0.1 cents per viewing of the video.
  • The video has made almost three times as much money from downloads of the song by individuals across the world.
  • However, the real revenue driver for Psy is the $4.6 million he has made so far from endorsements and commercials.

Read more about the relatively hard times for musicians these days over here.

Source: The Atlantic