YouTube is not a conventional musical artist or band but a global online video-sharing platform founded in the United States that has played a major role in the contemporary music ecosystem. Since its emergence in the mid-2000s, YouTube has served as a distribution and discovery channel for a wide range of musical genres, from pop, rock and hip-hop to electronic, classical and independent/DIY styles, enabling artists, amateur musicians and labels to publish audio-visual content directly to audiences. The platform is associated with features such as user-uploaded music videos, live performance streams, covers and remix culture, as well as algorithmic recommendation systems that influence listening and viewing habits. Its impact on promotion, viral breakout success and the monetization of music has been widely noted in discussions of 21st-century music industry practices.