Google has launched a dedicated YouTube site for Singapore in a bid to grow its inventory of localized video content. Prior to this, the search giant has been offering localized YouTube services in 34 other countries including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, India and more recently, the Philippines.
Users can visit the localized site by choosing “Singapore” as the location setting at the bottom of the YouTube.com homepage, or by heading directly to youtube.com.sg.
“Even though we’re only launching a localized site for Singapore today, Singaporeans have already been an extremely large and important audience on YouTube,” said Adam Smith, director of product management for YouTube in the Asia-Pacific region, in a media statement today.
“Through localizing YouTube in Singapore, the site will deliver more of the content Singaporeans want to see, and we hope the world will continue to discover the amazing culture and talent that exists in Singapore today,” he added.
YouTube Singapore features a local interface that makes it easy to find videos that are most relevant to Singaporeans, including content from global partners and local media agencies such as Refinery Media and Oak3 Films. Interactive SG, a local web design and interactive agency, is also showcasing Angel’s Gate, a new reality TV show on entrepreneurship, on the site.
According to YouTube, partners can take advantage of the localized site to distribute their content, grow their audience and generate revenue when advertisements are displayed against their videos in the YouTube Partner Program. Independent content creators can also apply for the program to monetize their work.
In addition, YouTube has signed a licensing agreement with the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (Compass) to allow music artists to earn revenue on YouTube. Under this agreement, artistes can now receive payments for content that’s distributed through the video sharing site.
“Reaching an agreement with YouTube is a step forward that creates major new opportunities for our members and affiliates,” said Edmund Lam, CEO and director of Compass. “From now on, they will receive fair payment for the use of their works on YouTube which is a very positive step for our songwriters and publishers, and, more broadly, the Internet.”
