Here's the sixth bi-yearly local acts video views chart: who's making YouTube waves?
The headline? Laura Mvula still rules – just. But I think that she's going to be overtaken on the next chart by another spectacularly talented Birmingham woman who plays by her own rules. You may not have heard of her yet. But you certainly will.
On the verge of the big stuff...
This chart's big winner: Lady Leshurr. She has upped her game and surged, massively increasing her impact.
The Rules
- West Midlands acts still involved locally only. No tax exiles.
- Real videos only: no smartphone and fan clips.
- The two most-viewed videos uploaded in the past three years count.
- No live videos unless specifically commissioned.
- Only one version of a song - no remixes.
- Single songs only.
- Video numbers totted up at the start of this past week.
Health warning: YouTube numbers wobble.
They
are inconsistent. And they can be fiddled. Up at the top of the
chart, where the act is established, I don't think it matters much.
Down at the bottom of the chart, where funds are tight, it's probably
a non-starter too, because fiddling your numbers costs money.
However, somewhere in the middle, where potential and dreams starts
to turn into something which could be significant, is where there
might well be hyping.
Different genres, different viewing patterns.
Metal in all its variations
does well. As does Rap. In fact, Hip-Hop/Rap does spectacularly well – take
a look at the stonking numbers racked up by Lady Leshurr, with her
new series of monthly videos, which is in itself a great idea,
breaking out from the cycle of songs-which-need-videos. Nice
production, very elegant but very cost-effective delivery, and
material which strikes a chord. It's unique - because Lady Leshurr is
unique.
Now... the chart
With links to all the videos
And two subsidiary charts
Here's who's put on serious numbers since February... Go Lady Leshurr!
| Lady Leshurr | 2,862,342 |
| Tom Aspaul | 485,861 |
| Robert Plant | 492,134 |
| Laura Mvula | 402,390 |
| Editors | 369,891 |
| Napalm Death | 354,760 |
| UB40 | 314,095 |
| Swim Deep | 223,283 |
| Malkit Singh | 189,787 |
| Electric Swing Circus | 188,340 |
And here's the best percentage increases in the past 6 months. Excellent work, Mr Aspaul.
| Tom Aspaul | 1,229 |
| Lady Leshurr | 648 |
| Ekkah | 211 |
| Swami | 132 |
| Mr Switch | 87 |
| Anaal Nakraath | 83 |
| Superfood | 82 |
| Radio Riddler/Ali Campbell | 76 |
| Rebecca Downes | 62 |
| Stone Foundation | 60 |
Conclusions?
You might notice the absence of some relatively big local names. Interestingly, some people have taken the decision to remove older videos because they no longer represent what the artist is doing. Props to Aka George, who has killed all his earlier George Barnett videos, including his spectacular Get Lucky cover.
A few people have dropped out because their videos are now past the three year window I apply. And it's an indisputable fact that the past few years have been extraordinarily tough for local bands – so finding the money for new videos is hard and getting harder.
And, again, this
only shows very rough trends – I'm not sure I trust all the numbers
I see here. Especially as it's easy to manipulate things like viewing numbers.
But loyalty counts for a lot. UB40, Robert Plant, pretty much all the Death Metal crews, and the Editors will testify to that.
Percentages can be tricky - Tom Aspaul has done great because he is a featured artist on Aeble's fine recording. But well done Ekkah, Swami, Superfood, Rebecca Downes (coming in from a standing start last year), and Stone Foundation.
But loyalty counts for a lot. UB40, Robert Plant, pretty much all the Death Metal crews, and the Editors will testify to that.
Percentages can be tricky - Tom Aspaul has done great because he is a featured artist on Aeble's fine recording. But well done Ekkah, Swami, Superfood, Rebecca Downes (coming in from a standing start last year), and Stone Foundation.
I may have missed something. I did last time out, until Casey Rain jabbed me in the ribs to remind me about Swami. If I've missed you
out, and you think your videos qualify, then jab away... email me using the box at the top of the page.
Lead photo by Justin Jensen on Flickr
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Lead photo by Justin Jensen on Flickr
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