’Gangnam Style’ earns $ 8 m for YouTube

SAN FRANCISCO: Google said Tuesday that the YouTube page showcasing the “Gangnam Style” video by South Korean rapper Psy has reaped more than $ 8 million in ad revenue. Google Chief Business Officer Nikesh Arora revealed the figure while discussing the money-making potential of YouTube during a quarterly earnings call with financial analysts.
Ad revenue from popular YouTube videos is shared with creators of the content. In December, “Gangnam Style” became the first video to break a billion views on YouTube, marking a historic milestone on the Internet. A counter at the YouTube page showed that the music video has been watched more than 1.23 billion times since it was uploaded in July of last year.
Kevin Allocca, YouTube’s trends manager, attributed Psy’s success “to the universal appeal of catchy music — and er, great equine dance moves.”