INFOGRAPHIC: America’s Top-Earning YouTube Videos
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To determine which creators and videos boast the highest global reach and revenue on YouTube, the team at BonusInsider analyzed the platform’s publicly available view data and assessed the estimated ad-driven revenue via the online YouTube Money Calculator tool by InfluencerMarketingHub, which factors in views, engagement, and subscribers. The figures in the report represent revenue from views alone, excluding additional income streams such as off-platform monetization, sponsorships, or merchandise sales. The complete dataset behind the report is available on Google Drive via this link.
American creators are YouTube’s biggest powerhouse: Cocomelon, ChuChuTV, Wiz Khalifa, and Bruno Mars together anchor the majority of the platform’s top-ranking viral hits. Data shows that 5 out of the 10 most successful videos globally belong to American productions, earning over $65 million for their channels.
LINK: https://www.bonusinsider.com/the-most-watched-youtube-videos-and-how-much-revenue-they-generated/
Here are a few key takeaways from the report:
Five of YouTube’s ten most-viewed videos come from the United States, driven by a blend of children’s content and major pop hits. South Korea takes two spots with “Baby Shark Dance” (the most-watched YouTube video of all time) and “Gangnam Style”. Puerto Rican artists Luis Fonci and Daddy Yankee claim another with “Despacito”, the platform’s second most-viewed video. The remaining two places go to Romania’s LooLoo Kids channel and its "Johny Johny Yes Papa" and the UK’s Ed Sheeran with his global smash hit “Shape of You”.
American kids’ content creators continue to dominate YouTube’s global charts - Cocomelon alone takes two of the top ten spots. The number 1 US release on the platform is “Wheels on the Bus”, which is currently the third most popular video globally. Cocomelon’s version of the timeless nursery rhyme has generated more than $15 million in ad revenue from views alone. Right behind is another children’s favorite, the “Bath Song”, produced by the same creators, securing 7.29 billion views and an estimated revenue of $13 million.
Among the non-kids content in YouTube’s current top ten are two major US productions: Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again”, which has earned an estimated $13 million from its 6.85 billion views, and Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” featuring Bruno Mars, which has generated nearly $11 million from 5.70 billion views.
Pinkfong’s “Baby Shark Dance” has held the title for YouTube’s most-watched video for five consecutive years, racking up 16.42 billion views and an estimated $30 million in ad revenue for the South Korean educational brand. Meanwhile, Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito”, which is often credited for reshaping Latin pop’s global reach, is the most-watched non-children's music video on YouTube, with over 8.86 billion views and a revenue of $16 million.
Five of the top ten most-watched videos on YouTube are children’s songs, which together have generated an estimated $84 million in advertising revenue, accounting for more than half of the total $147 million earned by the top ten videos.
“As YouTube moves into its third decade, the continued dominance of US creators in the all-time top rankings points to a shift in how global audiences consume long-form viral content. American producers have mastered two of the platform’s most lucrative formats - high-retention kids’ videos and evergreen mainstream music. In the future, those categories are expected to grow even more influential. Kid’s content is on track to push revenue ceilings higher due to unmatched repeat watch time, while major US music releases increasingly gain longevity through Shorts-driven rediscovery and cross-platform virality.”
- comments David Sandler from BonusInsider.
More information on YouTube’s ten most viral videos - including view counts, estimated revenue generated from ad monetization, and our complete methodology, is available in the full report.
