Get More Into: Big Day Out and the Australian music scene

While those in the Northern hemisphere hit the slopes (Shaun White, anyone?) and anxiously await the first signs of spring, the Australian summer is all about the outdoors. Music lovers are flocking to the land down under where summer festival season is alive and rocking, and even more are coming to YouTube to catch all the sights and sounds.

During the Australian Recording Industry Association awards, we asked a few of your favorite Aussie musicians what YouTube videos get them pumped up. We rang in the new year with a live streamed sustainable arts & music festival. And here, in the heart of summer 2012, we asked three of your favourite musicians in town for Big Day Out how they get into music in YouTube

The Vaccines: all from different backgrounds & tastes and less than a year old as a band, see what live gigs helped inspire the boys from West London to record their first album in just under a month late last year:



The Living End: with six albums, each one a milestone, watch legendary Aussie rockers get into their favorite 80s anthems, from big wigs to big gigs:



Foster The People: From relative obscurity to one of the most talked about bands on the globe (to the tune of more than 63 million views on YouTube!) watch what mischievious musicians have inspired these pumped-up kicks through sold-out shows all across Australia:



So if you’re on a ski lift, by a fire, or just waiting around till the snow thaws...we hope you can enjoy a taste of the Aussie music summer, right here on YouTube.

Ernesto Soriano III, YouTube Australia, recently watched “The Vaccines: Wetsuit instagram video.”

YouTube Release Notes: More ways to communicate

You keep adding and watching more videos, so we’re working to keep adding more ways for you to watch, share and enjoy the channels and videos on YouTube. This week in Release Notes we’ve got a new way to promote your Google+ profile on YouTube, more options in the Annotations Editor, posting to your Channel Feed and more.

Google+ profile on YouTube channel
Want to share your Google+ profile or Google+ Page on your YouTube channel? We’ve added a feature to let you promote your presence on G+. We’re looking for other ways to bring the benefits of Google+ to your YouTube channel, so as always please give us your feedback!



Post videos, playlists to your own feed
You can now share videos and playlists in your Channel Feed by posting a Channel Bulletin. When you’re on your Feed tab you’ll see a box “Post to Feed,” where you can enter a comment and add a link to share a video or a playlist. When you’ve posted the bulletin, it will show up in your Channel Feed with your comment below the video. Viewers who are subscribed to your channel will be notified when you post to your feed in their homepage feed.

 

Homepage and Channel Feeds
After experiments and lots of your feedback, we’re releasing an update to how events are displayed in the feed. The update focuses on three main changes: (1) the video title is more prominent for upload and sharing events, (2) aggregated events now feature a “+more” button which will bring more attention to the event than the previously smaller notification and (3) adding videos to a playlist has a new cleaner styling.

Before:                                                                        After:
 

Annotations
Customizing your videos is easier with our new annotations features. We’ve been adding more options to the Annotations Editor like a new annotation type, a full color palette and a new timeline. We’ve also added annotation styles, which lets you choose a templated design to apply to your videos. You can quickly pick a design for your annotation and apply it your video. Start using these today in the Editor by clicking the arrow next to any upload in the Video Manager.



The YouTube Team recently watched, “KevJumba vs. NY Yankee Nick Swisher Ping Pong FaceOFF.”

More sports channels kick off on YouTube

Hot on the heels of the launch of four new action sports channels we’ve added more hard-hitting channels for all the YouTube sports fanatics out there. See the latest controversy in the world of soccer, watch insider interviews with basketball pros, or get smart with in-depth sports documentaries and analysis.

• Bleacher Report: From Linsanity to Tebowing, Bleacher Report has your sports fix covered. Bleacher Report's channel showcases the fun and entertaining side of sports with their flagship daily show BR5, provides a full throttle fill of football with NFL Draft 365 and their college football recruiting show Full Ride. The documentary series Why We Watch uncovers the great stories that dot the sports landscape. With in-depth opinion and analysis, top athlete and celeb appearances and much more, Bleacher Report will get you a front row seat for the latest in sports.

• KickTV: Kick is where soccer fanatics -- football for all you global diehards -- can get their regular dose of “the beautiful game”. Every day, Kick’s roster of international stars and pundits debate the hot-button topics on The Mixer. On The Whip, Kick’s experts highlight the good, the bad, and the ugly from around YouTube’s football world. History buffs can dip into the past to catch full matches on the Kick Classics channel, while aspiring stars can learn the game in the Academy channel. From London to Los Angeles, Buenos Aires to Barcelona, Kick will be covering the world’s most popular sport with unparalleled breadth and depth.

• The NOC: Bringing you the world’s most famous sports stars like you’ve never seen them before, the NOC is a 24-hour channel devoted to athlete lifestyle and comedy. Original shows include Say What, a funny take on what athletes say in social media. The Ice Bucket offers an inside look at how athletes unwind off the field. And FaceOff features athletes competing against celebrities and YouTube stars. Stay tuned for new comedy sketches every month.

Just program these new channels into your homepage now to get some of the latest and greatest on sports!

Ty Barnes, strategic partner development manager, recently watched “Lin for the Win...Jeremy Lin hits game winner in Toronto!”

Music Tuesday: Live music, original music channels and more

We’ve quite the week of music ahead of us on YouTube, including two live performances and a new selection of channels bringing you closer to the music you love.

Jason Mraz and Sleigh Bells live
It’s February 14 and Jason Mraz wants to be your Valentine. He’ll be dropping into YouTube’s New York HQ to perform a selection of his favorite love songs as part of the YouTube Presents series. Tune in at 1:30pm PT.

And there’s more! Brooklyn-based noise pop duo Sleigh Bells have been wowing audiences with their debut album Treats and live performances. We’ll be giving you a front row seat at their show this Friday night at Terminal 5 in NYC.  Catch them on the new Bowery Presents YouTube Channel at 7:30pm PT. And speaking of the Bowery Presents channel...

Noisey, Pitchfork and Bowery come to YouTube
In October, we told you even more great folks were coming to YouTube, and we’ve already seen new channels from areas like action sports, education and autos. Over the next months we’ll be introducing you to the new kids on the YouTube music block and highlighting our favorite shows. To get you started, check-out three new channels entering the world this week, bringing you exclusive performances, behind-the-scenes interviews, news and entertainment.

Vice’s Noisey YouTube Channel lets music fans watch live music, follow the bands they love, and discover the artists who are on the rise — all with that unmistakable Vice feeling. We’re already digging the acerbic reviews from Record Store Dude.

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Since 2008,  Pitchfork.tv, has produced award-winning video, documenting independent music as it happened. Beginning February 17, they bring a host of new shows exclusively on their YouTube channel, including Pitchfork Weekly, +1 and Sixty Seconds Left, featuring 1-minute snapshots of artists doing crazy things.


Along with live broadcasts from Bowery’s iconic venues, the new Bowery Presents YouTube Channel will be be a hub for music films and intimate acoustic performances from the industry's leading and emerging artists.

 
If you like any of these channels, subscribe so you can get all their new videos and updates on your homepage, and see even more tunes on the YouTube music page.

Tim Partridge, music marketing manager, recently watched “Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance WIth Somebody.”

Brazil’s Carnival goes social with Google

While you may have heard of Brazil’s Carnival (or Carnaval), not everyone will have the chance to fly to Brazil to experience what are arguably the largest annual street festivals (+ music concerts + dance parties + culture fests) in the world.

Every year, Brazilian cities compete to be the country’s top Carnival destination: This year, we’re bringing you the sights, sounds and energy of Brazilian Carnival directly from the streets of Salvador (Brazil’s first capital and one of the oldest cities in the the Americas) through Google+, YouTube and Orkut.

From February 16 to 21 — the height of the festival and the peak of Brazil’s summer — you’ll be able to:

• Watch the festivities wherever you are in the world on the Carnival YouTube Channel. Starting Thursday, February 16, you’ll have access to everything from a live transmission of the streetfest to videos of bands who have traveled to Salvador to host the party. You’ll even be able to chat with other YouTube users who are watching the party with you from around the world through a map we’ve integrated just for the occasion.
• Chat with bands and watch live interviews on Google+. Chat with some of the Brazilian bands who have joined the festivities in real time by sending questions via Google+ and Orkut. You’ll also be able to watch celebrity interviews running live throughout the week on the AoVivo (Live) Google+ Page and transmitted simultaneously on YouTube and Orkut.

Even if you didn’t have a chance to get a plane ticket to Brazil, there’s no reason not to experience the energy of this year’s 2012 Carnival. Find out more about how you can be part of the party on +AoVivo, Orkut or on our Carnival YouTube Channel.

Flavia Simon, head of consumer marketing, Brazil, recently watched "President Obama sings Al Green: Let's Stay Together in 2012."

Woo your Valentine with help from YouTube

The oldest known Valentine still in existence today is a poem written by a Frenchman, Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was locked away in the Tower of London. On Valentine's Day he sent his wife a rhyming love letter. Written in 1415, this poem now lives in the British Library in London.

The Duke had 25 years in prison to craft poems to make his love swoon, but you have just one day until Valentine’s Day to woo the one you love. So look no further than YouTube to find some inspiration.

Find the way into your Valentine’s heart through his or her stomach with the help of some of YouTube’s cooking channels. From romantic fondue dips to red velvet vegan cupcakes to recipes for raw food hearts, you’re sure to find a dish for any loved one’s palette.



Whatever your budget, whomever your Valentine, truly great gifts are thoughtful and personal. From an origami bouquet of roses to a sentimental deck of cards to tips for creating a romantic dinner at home, YouTube channels have great gift ideas for you.



Finally, are you thinking about asking someone special an important question this Valentine’s Day? The YouTube Slam team cooked up a Valentine's Day Slam of romantic proposals to help you get inspired! Watch the proposals side by side and vote for whichever pulls on your heartstrings or even brings tears to your eyes. And don’t forget to check out the top voted proposals.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Jessica Mason, communications associate, recently watched “How to cook a lobster for Valentine's Day!”

Content rules the social media roost

Today we welcome Paul Kontonis of the International Academy of Web Television and Digitas to get us ready for Social Media Week, with a look at video on the web.

2012 is being touted as being THE year for web video. Between YouTube’s investment in original channels, Netflix’s original content deals, and Tom Hanks partnering with Yahoo on original programming, there is confidence that these investments help make this a game-changing year.

At the center of online video’s success is social. In fact the futures of both social and content are highly intertwined. Content needs social and social needs content. Social allows for the discovery and sharing of content and video gives people something to share and discover through their social graphs.

Social Media Week reflects the global impact of social media on all aspects of business, society, and culture, and content is no different. From the importance of quality and engaging content, to the distribution and measurement, content’s role is highlighted in a series of events listed below.

• BigScreen LittleScreen: Web Video Content Screenings and Discussion
• Social TV: Opportunities for Broadcasters & Advertisers
• My Social TV app thinks I'm my dad: Privacy Issues in the Age of Convergence
• The Mobile-Social Living Room: How Emerging Media Is Reviving the Live TV Experience
• Making Video Rock
• AktionX: We Produce our own music- Video with dogs of shame!
• How to get more views for your YouTube Videos

Guest to the YouTube Blog Paul Kontonis, International Academy of Web Television Chairman of the Board of Directors, and VP/Group Director at Digitas, recently watched “Working with Brands and Content Creators - 2012 IAWTV Awards Panel.”