Gathering on the red carpet at Montecasino in Fourways, Johannesburg, South African YouTube stars like SixPackFactory, Caspar Lee and MduComics came together on 7 March 2013, to talk about how YouTube made them famous and helped them make money.
Available on any screen and across 400 million devices globally, YouTube is a diverse and expanding platform for anyone with a talent or business idea. Globally, viewers watch a staggering 4 billion hours of video footage a month.
"From discovering global pop sensations, to reinventing the classroom, the YouTube community is transforming entertainment and shaping the culture of our times. It's great to see South Africans playing an active role in this," comments Molko.
Web fitness celeb, Peter Cilliers (creator of the channel, SixPackFactory), took part in a panel discussion about YouTube, along with the other stars. Cilliers, who has been a YouTube partner since 2010, earns over R50,000 a month by uploading one exercise video a week to his channel - this excludes the revenue made from sales of his own products through the channel. "It has evolved into so much more than a site to watch entertaining videos. It has become a means for many individuals to earn respect, success, acknowledgement and revenue for what they have to offer any audience or customer." Six Pack Factory has just surpassed 1 million views per month and has over 135,000 subscribers.
Meanwhile, teen sensation Caspar Lee has over 570,000 subscribers, more than BBC Worldwide (538,000 subscribers) and already a quarter of the number of Top Gear (1.9 m subscribers). At the age of 18, he is already fully financially independent - all from his diary entries on YouTube.
Other YouTube stars who attended the event included hit Zulu animators, MduComics (remember Izikhokho Show - Jesus is a Shangaan, which came in second on the list of 2012's top watched SA videos); wildlife enthusiast Rob the Ranger; South African acapella group The Soil; and energy expert Martin Lorton at Solar Power and Electronic Measurement. Caspar Lee and Martin Lorton joined the Montecasino event via Google+ Hangout from London and Cape Town respectively.
The site's new design underscores its focus on channels, which has led to an increase in engagement on YouTube. "The creators of these channels are succeeding now more than ever before," says Luke Mckend, Google SA country manager. "Revenue from the YouTube Partnership Programme, where partners get a portion of the ad revenue generated on their sites, has doubled globally for the fourth consecutive year and thousands of these partners are receiving up to six figures annually - in dollars. In South Africa, our partners are earning 60% more than in 2011, which shows the potential of YouTube as a business tool."
YouTube has become the go-to destination for video footage on the web. The volume of content unites people from all walks of life through video. For more, go to www.youtube.com/yt/partners/.
South Africa in 2012
Made and viewed by SA: the most watched YouTube videos of 2012
Global
2011
Top ten global YouTube videos in 2012
