Incredible...

[Rich Arnold]

How does a band from Nashville, that btw, none of my music friends or I have ever heard of, get 166 million views on YouTube. Lanco.
Who has the cheat code for YouTube? Anybody here? If so give to me.
Let's entertain the possibility that this band has a massive following. The only way I see this is possible is if they are operating in a parallel universe.
I'm not jealous of other people success. Just curious to know why they succeed where I failed.
Party on Lanco!

[Bill Ferguson]

Now we are all curious.

What band?

[Bill McCloskey]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanco_(band)

[Doug Beaumier]

They're up to 249M views now, but YouTube is just part of their story. According to Wikipedia, they've been signed by major labels, including Sony and they've toured with major country acts. Hit songs that have been heard on Netflix productions, etc. And they're very active on all the social networking apps. But I've never heard of the band either. I haven't listened to top 40 Country in years.

[Rich Arnold]

They're up to 249M views now, but YouTube is just part of their story. According to Wikipedia, they've been signed by major labels, including Sony and they've toured with major country acts. Hit songs that have been heard on Netflix productions, etc. And they're very active on all the social networking apps. But I've never heard of the band either. I haven't listened to top 40 Country in years.

Yea, that's my point. I'm right here in Nashville and I listen to top 40 all the time. It's strange how they could be that big and so high profile but yet slip under my radar. And go un-noticed by everyone I know. I know people who are working with bands who are on the charts and people who are producing these big acts.
It blows my mind.

[Rich Arnold]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanco_(band)

Oh! So that's it. I need to be prowling around on Wikipedia to stay in the loop.

[Rich Arnold]

Now we are all curious.

What band?

Lanco
Apparently we're all shivering in the shadow of their towering success but don't even realize it.

[Rich Arnold]

Btw,
I listened to 5 of their songs yesterday and can't seem to recall even one.
Failing memory I reckon.

[Rich Arnold]

Often times I wonder if what I'm seeing on YouTube is real.
For example, the famous Rick Beato. I remember him when he first started his channel. He was bragging about having been a session player here in Nashville. But as I listened to his guitar playing I became very skeptical. He can't play worth a flip. And claimed he produced a band called Parmley that had number one hits and bla bla bla. It begged the question, if he was so successful in Nashville then why did he quit? When I raised questions his answers didn't make any sense and he became irate. I suspect he has had a better run on line than in real world.
Not all of them are fake though.
There is a relatively new guy on YouTube who goes by the handle of Bad Brad.
Brad is for real. I don't know him personally but have heard of him. He is known as a rock and roll guitarist here in Nashville. And a good one! But
I'm starting to think that a lot of stuff we see on line is embroidered and should be taken with a grain of salt.
I think I need to get off the internet and go back to live playing with real people.

[Doug Beaumier]

People get their music from a lot of different places today... apps, shares among friends, shares on websites, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, TV, etc. And lastly, on the radio! Billboard now includes "streams" when compiling their charts, as well as sales and airplay. So new artists can become huge and get millions of plays (and millions of shares) online, and you'll have no idea who they are unless you're hooked into that universe. I experience this every year when I watch the Grammy awards. I look at the list of nominees and I wonder... who are these people and why have I never heard of any of them? I recognize maybe three or four of the nominees in the entire show.

[Bill McCloskey]

Just listened to their music.

Recently I drove to Rhode Island to pick up a Mullen and along the way there was nothing on but country stations, so I listened for a while to see what was hot on Country stations these days. All of it sounded the same to me. Singer had to have a country twang to his voice. Same register. Same hooks, same overly sentimental music about families and being country boys.

In other words, it sounded exactly like Lanco. It is a formula that clearly works and they clearly stay within the lines of the genre. Innovation, uniqueness, individuality are not traits that sell...if they ever did. I can see why AI music is gaining ground. Lots of innovators died young or starved, or sold insurance.

[Rich Arnold]

Just listened to their music.

Recently I drove to Rhode Island to pick up a Mullen and along the way there was nothing on but country stations, so I listened for a while to see what was hot on Country stations these days. All of it sounded the same to me. Singer had to have a country twang to his voice. Same register. Same hooks, same overly sentimental music about families and being country boys.

In other words, it sounded exactly like Lanco. It is a formula that clearly works and they clearly stay within the lines of the genre. Innovation, uniqueness, individuality are not traits that sell...if they ever did. I can see why AI music is gaining ground. Lots of innovators died young or starved, or sold insurance.

Exactly right. They all sound the same. Maybe that's why a record or a single needs a little help to fight it's way to the top. Payola is still a thing these days. Only it's a bit more subtle.
That's why a group will be a smashing success on YouTube and Spotify and only have a mid-size crowd following them on Facebook. That's what I call " the new math".
I think we'd be naive to think a billion dollar industry with obvious inexplicable and illogical outcomes is free of any corruption.
I'd like to have the cheat code for YouTube, but I'm afraid all I could afford to do would be to slip them a fin.

[Rich Arnold]

People get their music from a lot of different places today... apps, shares among friends, shares on websites, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, TV, etc. And lastly, on the radio! Billboard now includes "streams" when compiling their charts, as well as sales and airplay. So new artists can become huge and get millions of plays (and millions of shares) online, and you'll have no idea who they are unless you're hooked into that universe. I experience this every year when I watch the Grammy awards. I look at the list of nominees and I wonder... who are these people and why have I never heard of any of them? I recognize maybe three or four of the nominees in the entire show.

Yea. That's how it works. But we have to remember that the big dogs also "work with" Spotify and all these other mediums and are very involved with them.
I have a lingering suspicion that there are thumbs on the scales. Maybe the history of the music business causes me to be suspicious.
The survival of your channel can be set down to the fact that you have something good to offer. It's a good channel.
I'm sure you make a little doe, but you don't have the influence or doldable cash that Sony has.
I know what you mean when you say there are groups that you haven't hear of.
I took a look at the lineup for Bonnaroo. I was like ...who the? what the?

[J D Sauser]

youtube works like looking for things efficiently on ebay. The TITLE has to be well thought thru so it pops up, mostly inadvertedly when people search for the most typical things... and feel invited to click on that video "just because".
If you put "C6th Jazz on Pedal Steel with new strings" or some title like that, most searches will not accidentally suggest the video.

Over 200'000 views are numbers that many meaningless videos attain. The question, or better the MONEY is, in how many LIKE, COMMENT and SUBSCRIBE. And that's why all these Content-"Creators" spend the first 3rd of most videos talking about themselves, their channel and how helpful and necessary it is for you, me, EVERYONE to like, comment, subscribe and never forget to click on the notification bell.

... J-D.

[Doug Beaumier]

Regarding the earlier comment about contemporary country music all sounding the same…
I’m reminded of the 6-song country mashup that someone posted on YouTube a while ago. One line from each of the six songs, playing back to back… And they blend together perfectly. Same key, same tempo, same compressed sound, same guitar tone. The singers sound alike, same themes in the lyrics. So it sounds like one complete song. It’s mind-blowing (as the video title says).

[Douglas Schuch]

Wikipedia says their songs were on some TV programs - I haven't watched or owned a TV in 25 years, but if their stuff was on the "right" programs, it might have driven traffic to Youtube looking for them. Just speculating. Not my tastes, but that's not surprising.

[Rich Arnold]

YouTube is a sewer with good things in it.