YouTube is already the place where most artists share their music videos. Now, the Google-owned video site wants it to also be the place where musicians come to grow with its newly launched Foundry initiative, according to a report from Billboard.
The program is the latest in YouTube’s efforts to help further cultivate the talent that uses its platform, allowing a considerable amount of resources to become readily available for creators so they can make the most of all YouTube has to offer. Content from Foundry will be hosted on YouTube itself as well as in the YouTube Music app.
One of the primary focuses of the lessons Foundry is offering musicians will be on live video production. YouTube regularly streams major concerts and music festivals around the world and aims to equip artists with the tools to show off their live shows as well. For YouTube, it has the added benefit of making streaming on its platform more competitive with Facebook—the social network has gone all in on streaming video since launching Live last year.
To promote the Foundry, YouTube has been hosting two-day sessions with big name artists headlining each bill. The first took place in Los Angeles in September 2015, followed by one in London in December. The next session is slated to take place in New York on April 25, and will feature BJ the Chicago Kid, Gemaine, The Range, Built by Titan, and Miracles of Modern Science.
Billboard also confirmed a Bloomberg report that YouTube has been attempting to make inroads with the music industry in order to collaborate. YouTube hopes to help promote artists and encourage exclusive content on its platform.
The outreach from Google and YouTube appears to be an effort to play nice with the music business, as the parties are in the process of renegotiating licensing agreements. Major players on the industry side have expressed dismay at the ad-supported model and low payouts on YouTube compared to other services. Foundry may very well cause the industry to change its tune.
H/T Billboard