TEN2 Media Founders George Karalexis and Donna Budica

In the ever-evolving landscape of the music industry, artists often find themselves navigating the complex waters of content creation, monetization, and audience engagement. Enter TEN2, a company dedicated to demystifying YouTube for artists and helping them harness its full potential.

In the latest installment of Chartmetric's Figure In Music series, Donna and George, the visionary founders of TEN2, share their unique journeys into the music industry, the genesis of TEN2 during the pandemic, and how their platform, LaunchPad, is revolutionizing digital advertising on YouTube for musicians and creatives.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

How did the two of you fall into the music industry?

George: I began playing guitar at five, started my first band at eight, and was signed by Island Records before graduating high school, marking the beginning of my lifelong music and entrepreneurial career. Later, at 23 years old, I transitioned to the corporate side, working at Monotone, and then started my own management, event, and ticketing company focused on electronic music. We were able to scale it successfully, always putting the artist first.

Donna: I, on the other hand, grew up in an academically driven family in Philadelphia and developed an interest in the economics and commerce of the music industry while studying Finance at Wharton. My combination of creative and business experiences, including performing in a nationally ranked a cappella group, laid the foundation for my career as an artist manager, business school graduate, and business owner.

How did TEN2 become a part of the picture?

Donna: The vision for TEN2 emerged during the pandemic when YouTube evolved from a platform for hosting music videos to a key player in the music industry, part social network and part DSP. The pandemic accelerated its role in brand building, audience development, and content monetization for artists. TEN2 was founded to provide value, insight, and actionable plans for artists on YouTube, focusing on content strategy, asset management, IP protection, and marketing. YouTube remains crucial for building artist brands, engaging with audiences, and sustaining careers through effective content monetization.

George: YouTube has historically been opaque for artists, particularly regarding monetization and user-generated content (UGC). Many companies extract value from artists rather than adding it, but YouTube offers significant revenue and insights beyond artists' channels. With YouTube's multi-format options like shorts, long-form videos, and the Community tab, TEN2's core focus on marketing helps partners grow their reach and generate more revenue. Our unique approach combines revenue collection, transparency, and providing tools to help our partners succeed.

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And this further led to you building Launchpad? Can you explain a little bit about the platform?

George: The core idea was to create a hub for artists to launch their careers on YouTube, addressing the issue of unscrupulous digital advertisers. Many artists are misled by advertisers who fail to provide performance reports and run ineffective campaigns. Effective advertising is more than just placing ads on videos; it requires strategic planning and transparency.

Donna: The issue lies not with YouTube advertising itself but with how some digital marketers exploit the platform's complexity. These agencies run poorly targeted ads, leading to irrelevant views and no meaningful insights for artists. LaunchPad was founded to offer honest, effective advertising with transparency and real-time analysis, enabling artists to grow their careers by reaching a highly convertible audience.

What kind of campaigns can artists run?

George: We offer always-on, on-demand advertising with real-time reporting, ensuring ads appear for relevant search terms and in-stream before videos. For example, we placed an ad for Brent Faiyaz before a Drake video, effectively targeting the 18-25 US audience. Our platform allows channel verification, API data integration, and offers simple campaign setups, maximizing advertising impact and providing valuable insights.

Donna: Our backend processes robust data sets with detailed audience profiles, especially within the music industry, offering a unique value proposition. We leverage extensive data and insights from numerous campaigns to understand audience reactions and campaign effectiveness. By using data from artists' channels and our high-performing campaigns, we ensure targeted and effective advertising, such as accurately identifying a US audience for specific campaigns.

Any examples of effective campaigns so far?

George: We have had a number of successful campaigns. Our team is at its best when we are aligned with the artist and their team on the outcomes and overarching plan. When this is the case, we have seen incredible results. Over the past 18 months, we have had over 500 trending videos, 175 top 10 videos, and 43 #1 videos. Through our process and actionable insights, we are able to replicate success for our artists.

How do you navigate the regional dynamics of YouTube as a platform? For example, genres like Latin or hip hop thrive depending on location. How do you address these variations?

George: Many think of YouTube as just for music videos, but it's a global platform without borders. It helps artists build a journey for their audience through various content types like music videos, blogs, and short-form content. The platform's reach and versatility make it a powerful storytelling tool across all genres – hip-hop, latin, pop, etc.

Donna: I agree with that. When it comes to performance, navigating the highs and lows globally is key. One of YouTube's strengths is its real-time analytics, providing constant insights into audience consumption. Data tells a story, and you can't argue with the facts. Regardless of audience size, the consumption habits are always there.

By analyzing this data, you can understand how different regions consume content and cater to them accordingly. Whether your audience is in Latin America, Western Europe, or Africa, the data will guide you.

Any advice for how artists can leverage these certain options for creating content? Any features they might not know about?

Donna: Consistency over frequency – across all content formats always wins. Of course, each pillar across the entire product/format suite has its own best practices. For example, on the Community tab, close-up, bright 'hero shots' that give a voyeuristic feel tend to work well. For Shorts, avoid promo-feeling content; let the artists’ personality be the guide.

Each product pillar has its own playbook. From an experimental perspective, try out each format touchpoint – and remember that authenticity always wins. YouTube users are deliberate in their consumption, and searchability is key. Being authentic to your personality and brand helps the audience find you.

What kind of KPIs should artists be looking at?

Donna: It’s important to distinguish between watch rate and watch time. Watch time measures how long someone watches a video, but watch rate measures the percentage of the video watched and is more crucial. Watch rate is a key performance indicator across all content types, indicating consumption, monetization, and other core drivers.

George: RPM (revenue per thousand views) is a key monetization metric reflecting net take-home pay after YouTube’s cut and expenses, unlike CPM (cost per thousand views). Our team focuses on increasing RPM for clients, which can significantly impact earnings, especially with high view counts. Even a small increase in RPM can result in substantial additional revenue for artists.

Lastly, any big trends you see on the horizon for music? Especially regarding YouTube or short form video content?

George: That’s a tough and complex question. You can never argue with an artist who has a powerful brand and loyal fanbase. Short-form content has brought the viral craze and is now helping artists reinforce their brand in smaller, "bite-sized" segments. I believe we will see a stronger focus on brand-building moving forward.

Donna: That's a good point. People are prioritizing short form content due to audience consumption habits and the new products on YouTube. As an independent artist, you can capitalize on virality and audience consumption thanks to transparent analytics. This allows you to tailor your content based on near real-time data.

Currently, YouTube is the best platform for short form content, especially because it values artists' IP more than other social media platforms. YouTube stands out as it combines elements of DSP, social media, and super apps. It offers subscriptions, memberships, and various monetization tools, allowing artists to understand and grow their audience effectively as the product suite expands.