YouTube Shorts gets boost with Ed Sheeran album preview

YouTube has managed to get a boost for its TikTok rival, Shorts, through a campaign with Ed Sheeran’s = (Equals) album.

He previews all 14 tracks on the eagerly anticipated album – four years in the making and set to drop on Friday, October 29 – on his Official YouTube Channel.

Fans around the world are encouraged to create their own #SheeranShorts to every track.

The clips see him stepping into an ice bath in ‘Shivers’, having a solo dance party in ‘Be Right Now’, taking an outdoor shower in ‘Stop The Rain’, playing a mini ukulele in ‘Sandman’ and hanging out with his family at home in ‘First Times’.

“I had a really fun day shooting my YouTube Shorts,” Sheeran said.

“I’ve always really enjoyed the music video process, so it was fun to explore a new way of doing that by channelling each song’s theme in a unique way, while also giving you a sneak peek of the album.”

Julie Greenwald, chairman and COO of Atlantic Records, said Sheeran’s a master at everything he does, whether it’s in the studio, on stage, or the series of videos he’s made over the past decade.

“He’s a charismatic storyteller, and YouTube Shorts is a great platform for him to give the world a sneak listen to his brilliant new album,” she added.

Lyor Cohen, global head of music at YouTube, agreed Sheeran is a gifted storyteller, and said he’s stoked the artist is using YouTube Shorts to give his fans a preview of the new album.

“From day one, I knew Ed and his music would have a lasting, global impact and that remains true today,” he added.

The YouTube connection becomes perhaps more significant with the singer songwriter’s news this week that he has contracted COVID-19 and has abandoned live performances for the time being, but Sheeran has been a YouTube phenomenon since he uploaded his first in 2006.

Two days after the CD release of his third album ÷ (Divide) he generated an incredible 1 billion YouTube views on just the album’s songs alone.

In 2019, his Official Artist Channel officially crossed 40 million subscribers.

That made him only the second artist in YouTube history to reach the milestone, after Justin Bieber with 45 million.

To date, he has four videos in the Billion Views Club including ‘Thinking Out Loud’, ‘Perfect’, ‘Photograph’ and the record-setting ‘Shape Of You’ which is the second most-viewed music video in YouTube history and the second-fastest to reach one billion views.

Over the past 12 months, he has earned more than 3.9 billion views globally.

Estimates are he generates up to $18 million from these.

Sheeran’s first two releases off the new album, ‘Bad Habits’ and ‘Shivers’ are this week respectively at #4 (after topping the list) and #5 on the ARIA Singles Chart.