YouTube is the best platform to upload and share your music content.

Millions of music fans use YouTube every day. That’s why it’s important to answer the question, "What are the best practices for musicians when uploading YouTube videos in 2022?".

It’s essential for artists to know the most up-to-date best practices before uploading to YouTube, so you know how to maximize your music content on your YouTube Channel. 

I believe in looking to the best, recognizing what they do well, and following in their footsteps.

With that being said, let’s take a look at Meek Mill’s YouTube Channel which has over 4.8 million subscribers and over 3 billion views. 

We'll look at what his team does well so that you can apply and benefit from it on your YouTube channel.

Official Artist Channel

First things first, head over to YouTube and search for your artist name.

Check your YouTube Channel, if you don’t see a music note next to your channel name, take a look at out our guide and begin the process of claiming your Official Artist YouTube Channel.

Video Thumbnail

Thumbnail is the first thing fans will see before deciding to watch your video, make a great first impression. 

For your music video thumbnail, an interesting shot of yourself from the video is good. You can also use album artwork that is reformatted for YouTube which Meek Mill uses for his official audio uploads.

Video Title 

The YouTube title is very important, you want fans to know exactly what your YouTube video is about, you also want to make sure YouTube will be able to categorize your videos on your YouTube Music profile.

When naming the titles according to, The Official Artist Playbook from YouTube, “Use the end of the title to distinguish between creative formats. For example, title your videos ‘Artist Name - Song Name (Live)’, if it’s a live performance, or ‘Artist Name - Song Name (Official Music Video)’ if it’s an official video.”

To add to YouTube's guidelines, if you have features you can follow Meek and put them in round brackets and then put your creative formats in square brackets. For example "Meek Mill - Halo (feat. Brent Faiyaz) [Official Audio]"

Video Description 

Most artists and creators don't give the description enough attention, the video description is very important.

Not only do fans check the descriptions to connect with the artist. YouTube uses the description for their algorithm.

Before starting your description, be strategic think about your goals so you can know where to send people. 

When fans go through your description they should be able to find direct links to your socials, direct links to their preferred streaming service, and also video credits and information. Lastly add hashtags so people can find your content.

Taking a look at Meek Mill’s description for Expensive, we can see he does this very well.

Hold Attention

Attention is super valuable. Millions are spent on YouTube to capture people's attention. 

When you're able to get someone to consume your content you want to try your best to keep their eyes on you.

YouTube has a lot of tools on YouTube Studio to help keep fans on your content.

Subscribe Button 

Subscribers is where YouTubers make their money, make it a priority to increase your subscribers anyway you can. 

Upload your logo to YouTube Studio so you can take advantage of the subscribe button. This is something Meek Mill could improve on, right now he's using his record labels Warner Music's logo, which is great for the record label, but not beneficial for Dream Chasers or Meek Mill's brand recognition. 

Here's an example of a good subscribe button.

Cards

End Cards

End cards are shown at the last 5-10 seconds of the video. End cards are used to promote other videos, playlists on your channel, you can also use it to encourage fans to subscribe. 

Use these tips to improve your YouTube uploads and have a better music release. 

Have a great music release!

For more music marketing tips tap here.

About The Author 

Muta is a co-founder for Dontsleepgfx. Dontsleepgfx is a marketplace for artists to get release ready music assets like Premade Cover Art, Spotify Canvas, and many more. 

Muta is an expert in digital marketing and has helped hundreds of artists with their music and digital strategy since 2015.

Want to talk to Muta about improving your YouTube Channel or music marketing? Contact Muta here.

Connect with Muta on Twitter. @mansamuta