The Role of YouTube in Accessing Popular Music in Japan

YouTube was launched in 2005 as a site for people to share their home videos, but has expanded to become an unprecedented archive of freely available sound and visual aterial, as well as a platform for accessing the latest pop music releases. YouTube is also a major social networking site and is facilitating the exchange and appreciation of creative work both within and across national borders. These functions of YouTube will be discussed in relation to the findings of a two-stage research project with Japanese university undergraduates that investigated how and why they use YouTube to access pop music. An initial survey of over 2,000 first-year undergraduates was followed up by interviews with 51 students to find out the ways in which they use YouTube in their daily lives