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Mideast & North Africa

YouTube Charts now in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE

29 Sep, 2021

[[read-time]] min read

Liliana Abu Dalu
Director of the Music Partnerships programme for YouTube - MENA

A big part of my job is helping music artists and labels make well-informed decisions on YouTube. While there’s nothing like the music industry, it’s still very much a business where insights and indicators are of great value to artists and managers. 

Top 100 songs lists

The top 100 songs playlists in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE as seen on the YouTube Music App. 

Which is why I am happy to announce that YouTube Charts is now available in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. YouTube Charts is available charts.youtube.com and on YouTube Music. It is a collection of four lists that will help the millions of Arabic speakers who come to YouTube to listen to music everyday discover new songs and artists, as well as provide the hundreds of Arabic speaking artists on YouTube a view of what songs resonate with people in the countries where it is available. 


YouTube Charts will be home to four lists: 

  • Top 100 Songs: The most played songs on YouTube and YouTube Music over a 7 day period
  • Top 100 Artists: The most played artists on YouTube over a 7 day period
  • Top 100 Music Videos: The most played official music videos on YouTube over a 7 day period
  • Top 20 Trending: What’s new and hot in music now, an external signal to the music industry that a new song or video is connecting with the audience.

Labels and managers spend a lot of time and money planning the release of their artists’ new music to ensure its success - YouTube Charts will help the industry better understand what resonates with their audiences. The Top 100 songs list will base its ranking on a variety of factors including a song’s streams on YouTube Music, its views on YouTube, and how often the song was used in user generated content. More details about how YouTube charts rank each list check our help center. 


YouTube has long been a launchpad to new and old music names in the Middle East and North Africa. Over the years, YouTube partnered with key music labels in the region to provide them with tools and knowledge to help them grow their music business on YouTube. As of August 2021, there are 170 channels with more than one million subscribers, compared to only 18 in August 2017,  a growth of 800%. 


I have seen first hand the impact YouTube has had on the Arabic music industry. There has been a great shift in how artists plan releases in terms of production, promotion distribution and fan engagement. Artists are now experimenting with new song formats and directly engage with fans. I hope this feature helps us celebrate the incredible works of artists, and helps elevate their new and old releases. 

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