The Business of YouTube

A weekly strategic lens for senior leaders into how YouTube is reshaping the business of technology, sports, music, entertainment, and culture.

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To your favourite newsletter, The Business of YouTube, brought to you by Paola Marinone and Bengü Atamer, founders of BuzzMyVideos and previously at YouTube and Google. We are bringing our exclusive insights from 20 years of experience leading strategy at YouTube and Google.

🚀 YouTube's 2025 Rewind: The Trends, Creators, and Songs That Defined the Year

YouTube's End-of-Year Summary for 2025 is here, offering a comprehensive look at the topics, creators, and music that shaped pop culture during the platform's 20th birthday celebration.

And, we have summarised it for you, all you need to know :)

The Dominant Cultural Trends (US)

The list of Trending Topics showcases how external culture is amplified and redefined by creators:

• Gaming's New Frontier: The rise of User-Generated Roblox Experiences was a massive trend, with titles like Grow a Garden and Steal a Brainrot making the list, proving that major studios no longer hold a monopoly on the most talked-about games.

• The Power of Fandom: Squid Game remained a huge force, topping the list as creators launched their own skits and challenge recreations. Similarly, KPop Demon Hunters saw fan-made videos treating the fictional girl group HUNTR/X as a real KPop sensation, complete with fancams.

• The list also included significant search topics like the Nintendo Switch 2, Charlie Kirk, and the Blue Lock anime.

Creator Milestones and Records

The platform's biggest personalities solidified their status and broke new ground:

• The Six-Time Champion: For an unprecedented sixth year running, MrBeast claimed the number one spot on the Top Creators list in the U.S.

• Livestream Innovation: IShowSpeed made the top tier by pushing the envelope with groundbreaking 24/7 IRL streams conducted across the country. - YES! 27/7 livestreams is a thing and we encourage more and more publishers to test this. If you want to know more, reach out to discuss strategy.

• The Manga Success Story: CoryxKenshin demonstrated the commercial power of a passionate fanbase, successfully selling hundreds of thousands of copies of his self-published manga series.

• Other Top Creators: The Top 10 also featured creators like CaylusBlox, Double Date, and Law by Mike.

Music, Shorts, and The Billion-View Breakthrough

Music saw a major shift, with a new record-holder emerging in KPop:

• The Fastest Billion: The track “APT.” by ROSÉ and Bruno Mars became the talk of the year, driven by creator takes and challenges, ultimately making its music video the fastest K-pop video to ever reach one billion views on YouTube, finally dethroning the long-reigning "Gangnam Style."

OH, end of an ERA! Literally!

• Top Song of the Year: The number one slot for Top Songs (US) went to Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga’s "Die With A Smile" (Official Music Video).

• Short-Form Hits: Shorts-driven trends propelled tracks like Forrest Frank's "YOUR WAY'S BETTER" and ATLXS's "Passo Bem Solto (Slowed)" onto the Top Songs on Shorts list.

Podcast Domination - Check out the Top podcasts Chart

Podcasts continued to thrive, with a diverse slate of shows making the U.S. Top 10:

• Leading Voices: The top three spots were secured by long-established hits: The Joe Rogan Experience, KILL TONY, and Good Mythical Morning.

• News and True Crime: Political commentary and deep dives also proved popular, with The MeidasTouch Podcast and 48 Hours making strong appearances.

  ALSO! YouTube now offers a first-time personalised YouTube wrapped, if you want to check yours, click here.

Want to discuss how to shape your collaboration strategy, talk to us.

Premier League Clubs’ YouTube Stats for November 2025

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE PREMIER LEAGUE YOUTUBE REPORT NOW

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A veteran in the industry, Wim Ponnet has witnessed and acted in the key industries of entertainment. A very unique point of view from someone who has been involved in real business transformation, always at cutting edge areas of the entertainment industry. From Yahoo, to Endemol Shine, then investing in sport & tech.

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