With YouTube For Artists, Music-Data Connection Deepens

Earlier this morning, YouTube’s makeshift headquarters at South by Southwest hummed with activity as a handful of musicians strummed guitars and tested sound equipment. The venue’slineup this week includes War On Drugs, The Weeknd and FKA Twigs, but today all eyes were on something that should have more far-reaching implications than any of the aforementioned performances: YouTube For Artists.

The Google-backed video giant previewed part of the initiative–anew data tool, due out in the coming...