How Do YouTube Music Channels Make Money?

There are many large music channels on YouTube. Many of these channels get millions of views every single month. But have you ever wondered- how do YouTube music channels make money? Do these channels make money like other channels on YouTube? Or, do they monetize their videos differently?

YouTube music channels make money through advertising revenue made through Google AdSense. Along with this, music channels also make money through licensing their music to other content creators, and through merchandise sales. The selected monetization method depends on the channel, as certain music channels cannot earn money through AdSense.

Making money with a YouTube music channel is 100% possible. However, there are certain scenarios where certain monetization methods cannot be used. For example, a music channel that uploads copyrighted music cannot earn advertising revenue, as their music videos will get claimed by the original artists.

How Do Music Channels Make Money on YouTube

So, how do music channels make money on YouTube? Well, as I mentioned above, YouTube music channels primarily make money utilizing 4 different monetization methods. These 4 monetization methods can be used at the same time or separately depending on the YouTube channel.

The 4 monetization methods commonly used by YouTube music channels are:

• Google AdSense
• Patreon and fan funding

Let's break down each of these monetization methods in more detail.

Google AdSense

Once a channel becomes a member of the YouTube Partner Program, it can monetize its videos through Google AdSense. However, as you may or may not know, there are certain requirements that a channel must meet to be accepted into the YouTube Partner Program. So, brand new channels cannot make money through AdSense.

A common issue many music channels run into when trying to monetize their videos with AdSense is copyright. Many music channels upload videos that contain copyrighted music. Due to this, all of their advertising revenue automatically gets sent to the original artists of each song. Channels can only earn money through advertising revenue for original music.

Licensing

Licensing is becoming a more popular monetization method for music channels. With licensing, a music channel can sell the rights to their songs to other content creators for an agreed price. If a creator uses a song from a music channel without purchasing a license, the music channel can then claim the advertising revenue from the video in question.

Since many YouTube music channels contain music not created by the channel owner, the channel owner must first pay the original music artist for their song. The channel can then charge content creators a fee to be able to use the song they just paid the artist for. Put simply, the music channel pays the artist, and content creators pay the music channel.

Merchandise

While it can be difficult, selling merchandise can be a good way to monetize a YouTube music channel. The thing is, a lot of music channel owners have a difficult time selling merchandise to their audience. Making money selling merchandise as a music channel isn't as simple as having a call-to-action for a poorly-designed shirt in the intro of every video.

People often forget that clothes are bought to be worn. Of course, clothing quality is subjective to each person, however, some clothing sold by music channels is not clothing that many people would wear. Music channels need to put legitimate effort into designing clothing if they wish to sell merchandise- things cannot be done lazily.

Patreon and Fan Funding

Finding high-quality music to listen to on YouTube can be a difficult process. Since this is the case, when YouTube users find a channel that does upload high-quality music, they are likely to support the channel. Often, users support music channels directly through Patreon and fan funding donations.

The key when it comes to making money through Patreon and fan funding is having a good offer. Some people will donate money simply because they want to support a channel, but often there need to be some perks present for people to justify their donation. Perks can include exclusive content, early video releases, and more.

How Much Do Music Channels Make on YouTube

Now that you know how YouTube music channel monetize their videos, you might be wondering- how much do music channels make on YouTube? After all, there are some really large music channels on YouTube that get millions of views each month. These channels must be making lots of money, right?

There certainly are some channels that upload music videos that make a significant amount of money. However, most music channels are poorly monetized. Music channels that make the most money often have multiple monetization methods being used at the same time. Most channels, however, only use a single monetization method, cutting their earnings.

You see, the amount of money a music channel makes depends on how its videos are monetized. A video that gets 1,000 views can make more money than a video with 10,000 views if it is monetized in a certain way. If 10 people buy a shirt for $10, this will result in more money being earned than a video with 10,000 views being monetized with AdSense.

Ultimately, it's important to keep in mind that high view counts don't always equal high earnings. Many music channels have poor AdSense CPMs and are poorly monetized. It doesn't matter if a video gets 100,000 views if it has as AdSense CPM of $0.30 for every 1,000 monetized views.

Examples of Music Channels Making Money on YouTube

Over the years, many massive music channels have emerged on YouTube. The majority of these channels earn a significant amount of money. Any owner of a music channel on YouTube should pay attention to successful channels, as they can help illustrate what needs to be done to achieve success.

ChilledCow

ChilledCow is one of the largest music channels on YouTube. This channel both uploads and live streams of music videos. ChilledCow's videos are monetized through Google AdSense and merchandise, along with fan funding in the form of channel memberships- a fairly new feature on YouTube.

Chillhop Music

Chillhop Music is a very popular music channel on YouTube. Like ChilledCow, Chillhop Music both uploads and live streams music videos. Their videos make money through Google AdSense, channel memberships, and licensing. When a channel uses music from Chillhop without giving credit to the original artist, Chillhop makes money through copyright claims.

Conclusion

Music channels are some of the largest and most-watched channels on YouTube. Some of these channels make a significant amount of money, and some do not. But how do YouTube music channels make money? They primarily make money through advertising revenue from Google AdSense, licensing, and merchandise sales.