YouTube reaches 1 billion users

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

Eight years ago, YouTube was founded as an outlet for creative people to showcase videos of themselves and their talents. Boasting large enough bandwidth to upload videos within minutes, YouTube skyrocketed in popularity. Soon, independent hip hop artists began using the video service.

Mac Miller is currently the biggest independent artist in the game and his claim to fame starts with his YouTube videos. YouTube came before Facebook and Twitter and rose to fame alongside MySpace, becoming one of the biggest ways to network and gain exposure. Other rival video sharing sites have carved their own lane over the years.

No competitor can come close to YouTube, however, and this is evidenced by high-profile film directors premiering trailers and major hip hop artists premiering their videos on YouTube. A testament to this growing fan base and the people who join simply to watch videos is their membership. YouTube recently crossed the 1 billion mark.