Shane Dawson Jumps to 3rd Most Subscribed on YouTube, More Moves Up Top

By 04/16/2010
Shane Dawson Jumps to 3rd Most Subscribed on YouTube, More Moves Up Top

TheWillofDC[TheWillofDC, Tubefilter’s new weekly columnist, who brings his mastery of the inner workings of YouTube’s movers and shakers from his popular YouTube channel to you, our fine readers in a weekly dish every Friday. Will has two weekly web shows—’YouTube News’ and ‘YouTube Winners and Losers’—that appear on his YouTube channel and of course right here on Tubefilter News every Friday. Questions for Will? Leave a comment below.]

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Shane DawsonLast week was big news with RayWilliamJohnson passing UniversalMusicGroup. This week is big news because ShaneDawsonTV passed Smosh to move into the number 3 all time most subscribed spot. Smosh has been in the top 100 (and at the top of it) essentially since the beginning of YouTube. In a year and a half Shane has gone from being relatively unknown to 3rd most subscribed of all time. That statistic alone from his illustrious YouTube career demands respect. He is a leader of the new generation of YouTubers having only joined the site in March of 2008. In comparison the only other person to do so well in a short amount of time is RayWilliamJohnson, currently at 5th. Ray began his rise last summer and like Shane joined YouTube in 2008.

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While currently Shane has the numbers to pass Fred and claim 2nd, he doesn’t have the numbers to hit number 1. Another small setback in Shane’s story is that his numbers are not as good today as they once were only getting about half the subscribers he would have 6 months ago. If current trends continue RayWilliamJohnson will eventually pass him. That would make Ray the first person to pass Shane since Shane began his magnificent rise.

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The one and probable only user whose numbers and success have stayed consistent is Nigahiga, aka Ryan Higa. He’s been getting between 20 and 25 thousand subscribers every week for over a year, at least. What’s more amazing about this number is that you can’t attribute it to him putting out content on a schedule where people know when to expect a video. You also can’t credit the collaboration process, which so many users use to find success, because other than his many videos with Michael Buckley and a special appearance on TheStation you won’t find him in many collabs. The main attribution of his success is the community because as it has grown, he has grown right along with it. The universal accessibility and appreciation of his videos have made him number 1 and it will take a long time before he’s unseated from that position.

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Yet Ray is 1 of 3 people currently able to pass Ryan and claim number 1 most subscribed of all time. If current trends stay the same Ray will pass Ryan in about 17 months (think October 2011). Yet the large caveat is that trends almost never stay the same. Over the past 5 years on YouTube there have been many different popular users who have captured the love of the community. In the past 2 years it seems that every 6 months there is a new user who captures the attention of the community and skyrockets as high as possible before a new user comes along and takes the spotlight.

Ten months ago Shane would easily receive the most subscribers in a week out of the top 100. 5 months ago it was Ray. Now as we prepare to head into the summer, aka the busiest time on YouTube, the competition for number 1 is split between 3 users; RayWilliamJohnson, MysteryGuitarMan and RealAnnoyingOrange. The good news for Shane is that this week he’s finally back in the top 5 most subscribed for the week out of the top 100 after being absent from it for 7 weeks. It will be interesting to see if he can stay there and how well this summer will benefit him. Although with auditioning for movies like scream 4 coming in he’s probably more focused on that than maximizing his numbers.

So turning our focus to the current top 3, each will have a spectacular summer with record-breaking numbers, but who will have the best?

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Ray has taken command of YouTube this year, where each of his videos easily gets millions of views. He also launched a daily vlog channel that seems poised to overtake ShayTards, which is currently the most successful daily vlog channel. This summer he also launches his super secret project and only time will tell what it is and how well it does, although I would bet on it being another success.

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MysteryGuitarMan is an old school YouTuber who has been with the site since summer of 2006. He spent all of last year hovering just below the top 100 before finally cracking into it in late December. In 5 months he’s gone from not being apart of the top 100 to being 16th and in 90 days vidstatsx.com predicts him to be 6th. If he has a really stellar summer 2010 could be Joe’s year.

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Finally there is the orange no one saw coming that is proving you don’t have to be human to capture the love of the YouTube community. Realannoyingorange’s first video on Daneboe’s channel was just 6 months ago. 4 months ago the reallannoyingorange channel was created. Today that fruit sits at 34th most subscribed of all time. Continuing the amazing numbers the 90-day projection has him reaching 14th. Within a year of creation, realannoyingorange could be in top 10, and if his summer is really good, top 5. That statistic alone could make 2010, year of the orange.

Other highlights this week include

Barelypolitical – Barelypolitical moved up 2 spots this week on the top 100 from 45 to 43rd. What I love about barelypolitical is how under the radar their rise to the top has been. While most people would immediately think Obama Girl when discussing their content barelypolitical actually has 4 very well viewed shows on their channel and produce a vast amount of content every month. They are currently 21st most viewed this month out of all the channels on YouTube. Ironically they are also 21st most viewed channel of all time on YouTube. A year ago they were in the low 80’s so their growth has been rather slow but as the tortoise proved to the hare, slow and steady wins the race.

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A major congratulation goes out to RhettandLink for their amazing appearance on Lopez Tonight on TBS! If you haven’t seen it here is the link. Also a special thank you to George Lopez for giving YouTubers a chance to be seen on TV! Earlier this year he had Glowpinkstah on his show a couple times. I hope to see many more amazing YouTube talent on his show.

And finally, a little update on last week’s article I’m happy to report that TheFineBros are finally on the top 100 most subscribed users of all time list. I can’t wait to see just how well they climb up the list!

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