ABS-CBN’s music label Star Music has brought together a musical powerhouse of more than 30 of its most popular artists to record a new version of the 2007 hit song “Salamat” to mark a major milestone: its YouTube channel reaching more than one million subscribers.
Star Music’s is one of the only seven channels in the country to have hit a million-subscriber base on the video-sharing service.
The 2016 version of “Salamat,” composed and originally performed by Yeng Constantino, premieres Friday (December 9) on MOR 101.9, Myx, OneMusic.PH, Spotify, and iTunes. It features Yeng, Janella Salvador, Ylona Garcia, Bailey May, Angeline Quinto, Erik Santos, Kaye Cal, Marion Aunor, Daryl Ong, Bugoy Drilon, Liezel Garcia, Jovit Baldivino, Sue Ramirez, Inigo Pascual, Michael Pangilinan, Jed Madela, Morissette Amon, Klarisse De Guzman, Jamie Rivera, Jolina Magdangal-Escueta, Juris, Vina Morales, Jona, Migz & Maya, Gloc 9, KZ, Piolo Pascual, Kim Chiu, Xian Lim, Enchong Dee, Tim Pavino, Alex Gonzaga, Enrique Gil, Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla, and Vice Ganda.
Yeng said, “My song has been given a new life. This is my way of thanking all of my fans who have supported me for the past ten years, as well as all of the fans of Star Music’s Kapamilya fans.”
Recently, Star Music was awarded with the YouTube Gold Play Button, a framed limited-edition gold-plated play button given by YouTube to channels that pass one million subscribers. It is also the first Filipino recording company to reach one million subscribers, and the third ABS-CBN channel to do so. It is currently the sixth top YouTube channel in the Philippines.
YouTube is the top online video platform in the world with more than 1 billion monthly active users. It is also one of the world’s most popular websites for finding music. As such, Filipinos from all over the world use YouTube to find their favorite Original Pilipino Music (OPM) tunes. Star Music reported that, aside from the Philippines, its top countries are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the United States, Kuwait, and Canada, and that it has Filipino fans in different parts of the world searching for and watching its videos.
Although YouTube can be accessed for free by its users it earns revenues through advertising, which it shares with producers, record companies, and composers.
Star Music head Roxy Liquigan said that YouTube does more than to help music labels and musicians to fight piracy. He said, “Because of YouTube, fans have a legitimate source of free music, which helps the music industry in a big way. YouTube doesn’t just earn revenues for us, it also gives us a level playing field to compete with other music producers on a global platform.”
The most viewed OPM video on the Star Music channel and in the world is “Ikaw,” composed and performed by Yeng. The official music video, which features actual video footage from her wedding to Yam Asuncion, has garnered more than 50 million views so far, with an additional 20 million views from lyric videos and uploads by fans.
Meanwhile, KZ’s music video for “Mahal Ko O Mahal Ako,” the Himig Handog P-Pop Love Songs grand prize winner, is the second most viewed Star Music video with more than 35 million views.
ABS-CBN, the Philippines’ leading media and entertainment company, is rapidly transitioning into an agile digital company with the biggest online presence among all media companies, and a growing list of digital properties.
ABS-CBN also manages the country’s number one YouTube channel – the ABS-CBN Entertainment channel with almost 4 million subscribers and 5 billion views, and the second most subscribed channel, ABS-CBN News, with 2.6 million subscribers. Moreover, some of the fastest-growing YouTube channels in the country are part of multi-channel network Chicken Pork Adobo, such as like Lloyd Cadena, Kristel Fulgar, Alexa Ilacad, Andrea Brillantes, and Mich Liggayu.
With an undisputed online reach and an army of stars with huge online following, ABS-CBN harnesses different digital platforms to make OPM available to more Filipinos worldwide. Its online music portal OneMusic.PH not only features the best and brightest music artists in the country but also serves as a launching platform for aspiring artists and up-and-coming musicians. This year, OneMusic.PH has also staged successful digital concerts for Yeng, teen singer Ylona Garcia, The Dawn, Sue Ramirez, Loisa Andalio, Maris Racal, and Kristel Fulgar, and Darren Espanto.
Aside from the use of homegrown songs and talents for theme songs in teleseryes and Star Cinema movies, ABS-CBN also actively promotes OPM through programs such “I Love OPM,” and its spin-off “We Love OPM,” new episodes of “Ryan, Ryan, Musikahan” on Jeepney TV, as well as the top-rating “Tawag ng Tanghalan” on “It’s Showtime” and “ASAPINOY” on “ASAP.” ABS-CBN also operates Manila’s number one FM radio station, MOR 101.9, which devotes most of its airtime to playing Filipino music.