Eleven years after its release, the video for Swedish House Mafia‘s “Don’t You Worry Child” is still making history. On Wednesday (Aug. 21), YouTube announced that the video has surpassed 1 billion views on the platform, the first clip by the trio to join this elite group.
Released on Sept. 14, 2012, “Don’t You Worry Child” was an immediate dance hit, ultimately coming to define the EDM era of the 2010s. The song itself currently has 547.8 million official on-demand U.S. streams, according to Luminate.
Coming on the same day as the song, the “Don’t You Worry Child” video expanded the lore around the track and the group, who three months earlier had announced that they were breaking up. The video’s narrative focuses on the breakup, working in news reports about the situation and also incorporating footage from the group’s July 14, 2012, performance at England’s Milton Keynes Bowl, where they debuted the song.
“Don’t You Worry Child” spent 33 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2012 and 2013, peaking at No. 6 in February 2013.
With the accomplishment, Swedish House Mafia joins the Billion Views Club that already includes a cavalcade of hits, like Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito,” Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You,” Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again” featuring Charlie Puth, Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” featuring Bruno Mars and other videos by artists like Rihanna, Drake, The Weeknd and Cyndi Lauper.
In terms of how much artists get paid for crossing the billion-stream mark, royalties are dependent on factors like label affiliation, location and type of view. For example, artists signed to major labels — which represent the vast majority of members of the Billion Views Club — earn higher rates on the platform than those who are unsigned or affiliated with an indie label.
