Lyor's Letter: The new YouTube charts

In the desert amongst hundreds of thousands of people, it was a cultural moment that was as massive as anything that I’ve ever seen: Beyoncé’s performance at Coachella was a celebration. The fact that kids all around the world were able to witness it—streaming in real time—reminds me of when I was a little kid watching the moon landing. Just wow. I knew that I was sharing that moment with people around the world, people who adore music. It makes me hopeful.

The Beychella experience was amazing, and it reminded me that incredible moments happen everyday on YouTube. Today, we’re launching YouTube charts in 44 countries—as well as a global chart—to help you be more informed and make better decisions. Our charts are unique, in that they are based purely on popularity as we’ve heard from many of you that this matters a lot. This reflects the music the world loves in real time -- Latin in the U.S., grime and Afrobeat in the U.K., and funk carioca in Brazil.

One of the things I’m most excited about is the new Trending Chart, which refreshes multiple times per day. It’s like when you see a doctor and they have all your vital signs—seeing a trend on YouTube Charts is like having your finger on the pulse of music. We are a living, breathing vital sign.

With love and respect,
Lyor Cohen

Like the Musical Moon Landing: With assists from Jay-Z, her partners in Destiny’s Child, an unforgettable marching band, and an army of dancers, Beyoncé’s Coachella show helped Coachella become the most viewed live festival ever on YouTube with more than 186 million views.

YouTube Charts in Numbers:

Global:
The latest YouTube US Top Songs chart includes over 15 songs from Latin artists, with the likes of Ozuna, J Balvin, Bad Bunny and Nicky Jam.

Cultural:
Playing off a popular meme, Ultra Records recently re-released a 20+ year old song El Chombo—“Dame Tu Cosita” with a dance video. The song racked up over 240 million views in its first 25 days—one of the 10 fastest videos to ever reach the mark. Last week it was **#1 on our YouTube Global Top Songs chart last week **and cracked Billboard Hot 100 at #88.

Rising:
Youngboy Never Broke Again who was on the Artist On The Rise trending tab feature last year is now #1 on the YouTube US Top Artists chart and landed 7 songs on the Top Songs chart.