It’s been a good few weeks for Felix Kjellberg (a.k.a. PewDiePie).
Earlier this week the Swedish YouTuber passed the 100 million subscriber mark on his channel, setting a record for the most subscribers anyone has ever accumulated on the video-sharing platform as a content creator. This comes right after his recent marriage to his long-time girlfriend, Marzia Bisognin.
The only tiny issue, that could potentially throw a wrench in the celebrations, is he still isn’t the biggest channel on YouTube.
Indian music record label and film production company T-Series holds that title, boasting over 110 million subscribers on their channel. But the gap between the channels, however, is getting closer. Kind of.
PewDiePie only needs approximately 9.4 million subscribers in order to beat the Indian record label. And while that’s quite the challenge, content creators often have one big advantage over companies and brands on the platform: they’re excellent at building communities and connecting with their audience, and are on the pulse when it comes to knowing exactly what their target demographic from their content.
We did it! What an unreal achievement! 100 000 000 thanks to all of you for the endless support and effort! I don't feel worthy, but I'm forever grateful pic.twitter.com/ErZk2uD904
— ƿ૯ωძɿ૯ƿɿ૯ (@pewdiepie) August 26, 2019
While brands are getting better at resonating with their audience on social media, fans are more likely to connect with personalities and individuals.
But it doesn’t all boil down to the number of subscribers a channel has, in order to be considered successful on YouTube.
According to The Verge “. . . although having 100 million subscribers doesn’t translate to 100 million viewers tuning in to every video, Kjellberg undeniably has one of the biggest audiences on YouTube, and the choices he makes directly shape what happens on the platform. When he first started his channel nearly a decade ago, he helped revolutionize gaming on YouTube.”
Throughout the past few years, PewDiePie has diversified his content. Today in 2019 he uploads videos related to anything (and everything) from memes, YouTube and social media culture to reaction videos.
He’s not restricted to uploading a certain style of content, featuring snippets of music videos and Bollywood films. He doesn’t need to abide by a company policy or guidelines.
Will he ever beat T-Series in the quest for the most YouTube subscribers on the platform? Only time will tell.
One thing, however, is for certain: he’s better equipped at evolving and creating compelling content, that resonates well with his audience, than most companies and brands. Surpassing T-Series in subscriber count wouldn’t be surprising at all.
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.
Photo credit: Shutterstock.