What’s an Official Artist Channel?

An Official Artist Channel (OAC) is a type of channel designed specifically for musicians. It consolidates your music and content into one unified channel, making it easier for fans to discover and interact with your work. Here's everything you need to know about Official Artist Channels:

What Are the Benefits of an Official Artist Channel?

• An OAC merges your personal YouTube channel with your Artist - Topic channel. This means all your music (whether it’s uploaded by you or distributed via an aggregator) is grouped in one place.
• Your OAC will feature a music note icon — a unique badge that distinguishes it as an official channel for a music artist 🎵
• With everything in one place, fans can find your content more easily, which is good for engagement and views. You can create playlists, manage your channel branding, and interact directly with your audience.
• An OAC gives you access to enhanced YouTube Studio features to track performance and audience engagement. If you add your channel to YouTube’s allowlist, you will have full control over your content’s monetization.

The Main Features of an Official Artist Channel

1. When you get an Official Artist Channel, it consolidates subscribers from your Topic channel, Vevo channel (if you have one), and your personal channel into your new Official Artist Channel.
2. Your Official Artist Channel gives easy access to tickets for your upcoming shows and events and direct links to your merchandise so fans can easily support you.

How Do I Qualify for an Official Artist Channel?

To be eligible for an OAC, you must meet the following requirements:

• Own and operate a single artist’s or band’s YouTube channel focused on the artist’s or band’s music.
• Have at least 1 official music release on YouTube that has been delivered and distributed by a Music Distributor or Label.
• Your channel complies with all YouTube policies, including YouTube’s Community Guidelines, Terms of Service, and Copyright policies.

💡Tip: It’s recommended to have at least one video uploaded publicly to the artist channel in addition to an official release. OAC requests for channels with no public videos uploaded may be rejected or require additional verification.

How Can I Request an Official Artist Channel?

If you meet the eligibility requirements, you can request an OAC by filling out this form. Once the form is submitted, your request will be reviewed by our YouTube team within 10 business days and forwarded to YouTube if eligible. Please note that the time required for YouTube to process the request can vary, and in some cases, it may take up to 6 months! After submitting the form, it is important to wait until you receive a confirmation or rejection email.

Once your channel is upgraded to an OAC:

• Your Topic channel content and personal channel uploads will be merged.
• The channel will gain the official music note badge.
• Your fans will have access to a centralized hub for all your music and videos.

Ready to get your music heard? Sign up now and let us take care of the rest! 🎤Sign up here