Gangnam Style reaches one billion views on YouTube

Psy’s Gangnam Style has become the first video to clock up more than one billion views on YouTube.

The South Korean dance track was posted online in July, propelling pop star Psy to worldwide fame.

It has inspired hundreds of parody clips, from members of the British army, Thai navy and Minecraft gamers, among others.

YouTube’s owner, Google, said the video had been watched seven million to 10 million times a day on average.

It overtook the previous record holder – Justin Bieber’s music video Baby – on November 24.

“Psy’s success is a great testament to the universal appeal of catchy music – and er, great equine dance moves,” wrote Kevin Allocca, YouTube trends manager, on the service’s blog.

One industry watcher said the fact so many people continued to post their own versions of Gangnam Style had played a huge part in the clip’s success.

“I’ve seen a statistic which reckons the one song will have generated something like $8 million by the end of the year from money that comes directly from YouTube through advertising plus download sales, its uses in adverts and TV programmes,” said Chris Cooke, business editor of the CMU music news site.

“It shows that YouTube – which is a free-to-use as a promotional platform for the music labels – can lead to substantial income.

“Should every artist be trying to think of a funny video that will go viral and be mimicked? I don’t know whether it’s a template that can be copied, but it certainly shows how quickly an eye-catching clip can spread thanks to social networks and YouTube.”

Sir Martin Sorrell – chief executive of advertising giant WPP – paid tribute to the achievement by making a link between Psy and one of the west’s most influential economists.

“Another great example of Theodore Levitt’s <<globalization>> and the power of K-pop,” he said.

D C Han, a South Korean hair stylist who worked in Gangnam before starting a business in London, added that he was proud to see the song become such a massive hit.

“I was amazed” he said.

“K-Pop is getting stronger and stronger, everywhere in Asia they are listening to it – China, Hong Kong, Taiwan. Maybe even in Japan but they might not admit it.”