Will Instagram kill the YouTube star?

While IGTV fires a storm, we ask Mumbai's most popular YouTubers if they plan to make the change

Ranveer Allahbadia, who runs the BeerBiceps channel on YouTube, at his studio Wadala. Pic / Suresh Karkera

When Instagram launched IGTV (Instagram TV) on June 21, the world wondered if that would mean the beginning of the end for YouTube, the most popular site up here, for video content. The concern may well be valid because Instagram is known to have engulfed its competition in the past. Facebook, Snapchat and even WhatsApp, to a certain extent, feel the power of the Insta square. So, what will be the next YouTube tour? IGTV, through a stand-alone application, allows Instagram users to set up one-hour videos, which appear in a perfect loop, just like Insta stories thread. Considering the ease of access through the application that has about 400 million users in the world and growing, IGTV would therefore result in more eyeballs? We spoke with four of Mumbai's most wanted video content creators, and even if they just want to get their feet wet in the new medium [much like the rest of the world] they welcome the tool to further explore their video finesse.

a start from scratch
The best thing about IGTV, says model, YouTuber and vlogger Scherezade Shroff Talwar, is that it does not require gaining followers from scratch. "My subscribers can automatically see my IGTV videos because it's the same platform," says the 31-year-old who has a 179K account on Instagram and her YouTube channel has registered 239K subscribers. "So, on IGTV, you're just creating new content for an existing audience and, because I already have a strong presence on YouTube, IGTV is a new fun space for me to create different content," she says. . The day she was launched, Sherry, as she is popularly called, downloaded an old skydiving video, diverted to YouTube and a new time-lapse video of herself getting her hair cut and got a good answer for both. IGTV allows tastes, sharing and comments. Ritu Agarwal, star of the hit reality show with The Voice India, had already filmed and was ready just in time for the launch of IGTV – although the date was not announced, there is already had floating rumors. "It was a Tareefan mashup that saw about 5,000 views in a week, I think that Instagram has a potentially wider audience, everyone has an Instagram account, but how many have YouTube accounts? " Ritu points out, which has more than one million subscribers on YouTube and 23.9 K subscribers on Instagram.

Food blogger Kalyan Karmakar who runs The Finely Chopped, says because YouTube and IGTV formats differ, an independent creator like him will face Challenges

Think Vertical
Ranveer Allahbadia wanted to try IGTV on the first day itself, but the vertical format of the video posed an obstacle. "So I took a quick look at what I would wear at my sister's wedding, where I pulled myself over the phone and then uploaded it to IGTV," he says. The BeerBiceps channel of Allahbadia on YouTube has over 1.3 million subscribers and is known for its high quality videos on fitness, grooming and motivation. "These are all shot horizontally, cinema style and so can not be reused for IGTV, so I had to think differently," says the 25-year-old. The culinary blogger Kalyan Karmakar, from The Finely Chopped Fame, has tried IGTV with a video on how to eat kori roti. "You have to stay in the middle of the screen to stick to the format," he adds, adding that it's difficult for an independent creator like him, who will now have to create content for both formats – YouTube and IGTV. "I prefer to have something universal." He has, however, been able to make a "better progress on Instagram" in terms of collecting eyeballs. "I can also now make a full video compared to Insta teasers for one minute for full videos on YouTube."

Fun Against Function
"If I want to see a video on" how to bademble a "I'll watch on YouTube, not on Instagram," says Talwar. "YouTube is more research-oriented, that's what it's all about. 39 is rather like a space of choice for the solutions. IGTV is a different space, where you have to engage the audience in another way. Insta is more fun than functional. So, as creators, we are going to We need to get out of our comfort zone and create another video language, which is exciting for us, otherwise all platforms will eventually look alike, "she adds. Allahbadia sees IGTV as an extension of the Insta story. "I see a lot of two-three minute videos that flourish here, Insta is an urban audience, who does not have the time, I'm going to re-shoot and re-edit videos to chew them. .. I think the on-site content videos If the image quality on IGTV is far from the YouTube HD, the creators are not worried. "I'm sure there will be more bets updated along the way for better image quality, "says Allahbadia.

So, what will it be?
Both seem to be the popular answer: "There is no need for one to overthrow the other, when both can exist and shine in their own space. And that's good news for creators and viewers. However, Agarwal believes that IGTV still has a long way to go before becoming a threat to YouTube. "YouTube has a loyalty factor, you subscribe and you want to see the person, Insta, it lands on your stream, so YouTube is more reliable in that sense, but at the same time Instagram grows by the second," says she, Allahbadia agrees "I do not see IGTV as a competitor for YouTube.The video language on both platforms is different, people will turn to different media for different requirements."

Ritu Agrawal, reality TV
YouTube subscribers: 1 million
Insta followers: 23.9 K

Scherezade Shroff Talwar, YouTuber
YouTube Subscribers: 239K
Insta Followers: 179K