YouTube Buys BandPage to Create New Revenue Opportunities for Musicians

YouTube has for years been trying to provide opportunities for its content creators to monetise videos. Towards achieving the goal, YouTube last year launched its $10-a-month subscription plan in the US called Red that combined ad-free videos, new original series and movies from top YouTubers, and on-demand unlimited streaming music. The largest video platform to further strengthen revenue chances for its creators seems to have finally made its biggest leap to make that possible.

YouTube on Friday announced it had acquired BandPage, a startup aimed at helping musicians build fan bases and increase their revenue. The startup confirmed the acquisition in a blog post, saying, "We are very excited to announce that BandPage is joining YouTube, a move which dramatically accelerates our shared goal of helping musicians everywhere thrive."

So far, neither YouTube nor BandPage has detailed the amount paid for the buyout. A report from TechCrunch however claims that YouTube acquired BandPage for around $8 million where "stocks will be converted into cash, and common stock will be cancelled with no payment."

In its blog post, BandPage adds that it has a lot planned for musicians and with YouTube already offering a global distribution platform; they will be able to offer opportunities to grow an open network of digital music services.

"YouTube already offers a global distribution platform for any artist to be discovered and some of the best self-publishing tools for musicians and other creators. The team has a lot of things planned to help musicians succeed on the platform, and more broadly across the BandPage network. There's still a lot that we can do to help musicians, and we can accomplish so much more together," adds the BandPage team.

Some of the other goals detailed by BandPage include developing intelligent new tools for managing/ distributing artist content and commerce as well as creating new revenue opportunities for all musicians, on YouTube and beyond.