BANGKOK, Thailand – PSY’s global hit “Gangnam Style” has surpassed 6 billion views on YouTube, more than 14 years after its release, cementing its status as one of the most influential music videos in the platform’s history. Released on July 15, 2012, the Korean singer’s breakout hit quickly became a worldwide phenomenon thanks to its catchy hook, distinctive choreography and humorous music video. The song sparked thousands of parody, dance and reaction videos around the world and became the first YouTube video to surpass 1 billion views.
Despite being released more than a decade ago, “Gangnam Style” continues to attract enormous numbers of viewers and remains among YouTube’s most-watched music videos. Its latest milestone has also renewed interest in how much money the song may have generated for PSY and other rights holders.
According to an estimate by AI chatbot Grok, the exact lifetime advertising revenue from the video has never been publicly disclosed. Grok cited information reportedly disclosed by Google in 2013, when “Gangnam Style” had reached around 1.2 billion views and had generated more than US$8 million in advertising revenue, equivalent to roughly 265 million baht at the time.
Based on the video’s current view count, Grok estimated that total advertising revenue for rights holders could potentially have reached tens of millions of dollars. Its calculation was based on a typical music-video RPM estimate of around US$1–3 per 1,000 views. However, that figure remains only an estimate, rather than an officially disclosed amount earned by PSY or his rights holders.
Actual YouTube revenue can vary significantly depending on factors such as viewers’ countries, advertising demand, the types of ads served and how revenue is divided among the various rights holders. Revenue may also have been generated through YouTube’s Content ID system, particularly from the enormous number of parody, cover and user-generated videos associated with the song.
Beyond YouTube advertising, “Gangnam Style” generated value through other sources, including music downloads, advertising and endorsement deals, performances and licensing. As a result, determining the song’s total lifetime earnings is considerably more complicated than simply multiplying its YouTube views by an estimated advertising rate.
More importantly, “Gangnam Style” left a lasting impact on the global music industry. PSY demonstrated that a song performed largely in a language other than English could break into the global mainstream and reach audiences on an unprecedented scale. Its success also highlighted the growing influence of digital platforms, YouTube views and online streaming in measuring a song’s popularity.
The song’s massive online impact helped reinforce the importance of digital consumption in the music business, with platforms such as YouTube becoming increasingly important to how artists reach international audiences and build global fan bases. More than a decade after its release, “Gangnam Style” remains more than a viral hit—it is a landmark moment in the globalization of K-pop and the transformation of the music industry by the internet. (Story, Photo: Khaosod)
