Many artists treat YouTube as just another showcase. They upload their video clip, share it a couple of times and abandon it. But YouTube, if well worked out and linked to a professional distribution strategy, can become one of the most effective ways to promote your music videos. your most valuable assets for growth and monetisation.
Here's how to leverage your YouTube channel with industry insight.
YouTube is not only visual: it is also a streaming platform.
Your video clip is important, yes. But your audio can also generate income on YouTube Music, YouTube Content ID, Shorts and more. A good distributor:
- Upload your track to YouTube Music as an official track
- Claim rights if others use your audio (monetisation)
- It helps you to activate the official artist channel (OAC)
Thus, your entire catalogue is centralised and works for you.
2. Official Artist Channel (OAC) is key
If your channel does not yet have the official artist badge:
- You are not taking advantage of all the positioning tools.
- Your music appears disorganised (between video clips, single audios and tracks on third party channels).
- It is more difficult to enter automatic recommendations and searches.
Your distributor can help you to activate and organise your channel professionally.
3. YouTube Shorts also moves catalogue
If you use fragments of your songs in Shorts (or get others to use them), you are generating:
- Visibility for your audio
- Traffic to the original topic
- YouTube Music playlist entry potential
A good distribution strategy include your catalogue in Shorts with correct metadata and trend monitoring.
4. Content + distribution = positioning
Your channel should not be just a file. You can combine:
- Videoclips
- Acoustic
- Reactions
- Concert clips
- Behind the scenes
...and all of that feeds into YouTube's algorithm so that it recommend you as a complete artistnot just as a "single issue".
5. YouTube is a global discovery engine
Platforms like Spotify or Apple work very well, but YouTube is still the main avenue for discovery in many countries. Having your content well managed there opens doors for you:
- LatAm
- Asia
- Eastern Europe
- Urban and independent communities
Not taking care of YouTube is leave money and visibility on the table.
Conclusion
Your YouTube channel is not an add-on, it is a central part of your distribution strategy. Well-linked, optimised and nurtured, it can help you to grow, monetise and position yourself as a professional artist.
