YouTube hosts live music events in Japan and US

The online video sharing site YouTube has today hosted the first official "YouTube Live" event, which featured many popular musicians and contributors to the site.

Two events took place, one in San Francisco, United States and one in Japan, with the event in the US featuring artists such as Joe Satriani, Akon and Katy Perry.

Another performer at the event, which started this morning at 0100 UTC, was will.i.am, who published his song "Yes We Can" on YouTube, with the video receiving millions of views on the site. The song was based on Barack Obama's concession speech after losing the New Hampshire Democratic Primary to Hillary Clinton. At the event will.i.am presented his song "In My Name," which calls for an end to child poverty.

"YouTube Live is the first time a broad variety of YouTube stars are scheduled to appear together under one roof," stated Chris Di Cesare, who works for YouTube as the Head of Marketing. "There have been so many wonderful talents that have emerged from YouTube and more established acts continue to recognize how invaluable YouTube is to building their audience. We felt it was only right to recognize them all in true YouTube fashion."

YouTube has stated that, between them, the more than 50 artists performing at the event have 2.5 billion views for their videos on its website.

The audience of the event was primarily notable contributors and partners to the video sharing site.

Performers