Trei Degete, the 2000s-inspired trio created by Squeezie, Myd and Kronomuzik, are once again setting foot in the music industry.
Called Spaceship
,
their new track reached 2 million views in less than 24 hours.
The group is not at its first attempt.
Last year, the single
Time Time
rose to first place in listeners in France, two days after it was posted on Spotify and Deezer.
The success goes beyond borders, so that the hit ranks fourth in the rankings in Romania.
Read alsoHow Time Time, Squeezie's single, became the most listened to in France in a few hours
More and more YouTubers are squinting at the music industry.
SEB and Michou launched into rap, Mister V tried his hand at country and McFly and Carlito tried a pop album.
But the trend is far from new.
“Music is part of YouTube's DNA
,” notes Jonathan Condessa, strategic planner at social media agency OTTA.
"With ''Cyprien responds to Cortex'' 11 years ago or Bo Burnham in 2006, content creators have always had a foot in music."
Path to profitability
What is more recent is the professional dimension.
Content creators do not hesitate to call on production studios or forge partnerships with labels.
Like Michou, who released his album My Life with the Allpoints label:
“I simply wanted to try the adventure, to make sounds so that's what I did.
But not just anyhow.”
Helped by a team of about ten professionals, the Picard produced his album in ten days.
In 2017, Mister V is the first to have initiated a movement of professionalization towards music with the publication of his album Double V.
"He showed that we could be on YouTube and carry out credible projects that interest the public"
, analyzes Jonathan Condesa.
The Grenoblois has now launched his own label and his albums are both certified gold and platinum.
The two YouTubers do not have the same profile.
Salman Sahli, content creator on the Monte le son channel, differentiates "
those who wish to develop a full-fledged musical career
", like Mister V, from "those
who use music as an entertainment tool among others, like Michou
”.
Yet the goal remains the same.
"Diversify content"
, notes Guillaume Heuguet, author of YouTube and the metamorphoses of music (2021).
“On the platform, revenue is volatile.
Music allows you to emancipate yourself from platforms, via streams, radio listening, possibly tours, etc.
Read alsoMusic, video: why the streaming giants are raising their prices
But the road to profitability and streams was far from easy.
"Not serious", "not credible" or "just entertainers"..
.
“For a long time, the music industry was full of a priori about artists coming from the Internet
,” notes Kronomuzik, member of the Trei Degete trio.
“The YouTubeur label stuck to our skin.
As if we weren't fully-fledged artists
,” exasperated the Belgian designer.
Since then, content creators have gained legitimacy with media and industry professionals.
“Radios feed on digital.
They have understood that success is born on the platforms and that they can benefit from it”
, analyzes Salman Sahli, content creator specializing in music.
An observation shared by the main interested parties.
“Our role at NRJ is to entertain and create hits.
When tracks like Trei Degete's bring the two together, it's wonky,”
says Morgan Serrano, the station's program director.
Less than a week after its release,
Spaceship
is already playing on France's leading music radio station.
Subscribers, a guarantee of success?
Because more than ever, music professionals are courting YouTubers.
“
Content creators have real firepower.
They are able to federate their community – the equivalent of millions of people, around their project
”
,
analyzes Jonathan Condessa of the social media agency OTTA.
By signing with videographers, labels ensure a minimum base of listening on the platforms.
Supported by his community, Squeezie received the NRJ Music Awards for "Francophone Revelation of the Year" in 2020.
Especially since through their knowledge of Internet codes, YouTubers constitute an interesting profile for record companies.
“Unlike more traditional artists, they know how to use social networks to promote an album, use a video to create the event around a single, etc.
“, points out Kronomuzik.
That's what he did with Trei Degete.
The challenge was simple: create the best hit of the 2000s, all in three days.
The winner was decided by the number of records sold.
Read alsoUniversal Music and Warner Music, big winners of musical Monopoly
However, millions of viewers are not a guarantee of success for these musician videographers.
Despite their 7 million subscribers, McFly and Carlito are far from having won over their community with Our best album (2021).
Indeed, for Sandrine Runser, producer at Belem/Wagram music,
“Popularity helps, but not at any price
”.
In 2021, she accompanied the launch of
Crash test
, YouTuber SEB's album.
“You have to create a real artistic profile with a new image and explain their transition,
she explained in 2020
to Parisian.
With Seb, you do a long job to make your career a long-term one.
It takes longer than with another artist.”
On his side
,
Morgan Serrano, the program director of NRJ, does not budge:
"It is not because you are a YouTuber that you have easier access to the radios"
.
Above all, you have to have talent.
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