So you wanna be a YouTube star? Whipping up a rapt fanbase and tens of millions of hits per month? Kurt Hugo Schneider did it, and shared his tactics for music production, marketing and filmmaking at Spikes Asia.

Schneider, who started on YouTube in 2008 and has 7.4 million subscribers racking up about 40 million views per month, said it starts with the visuals. While he began by performing  straightforward covers of songs by Michael Jackson and others, he quickly learned to mash-up clever effects — like multiple images of himself, split screen even something as simple as beautiful cinematography — achievable these days with even cheap cameras, as he proved in something that became his “epic patty-cakes video,” sponsored by Canon.

The 28-year old, who graduated magna cum laude from Yale with a mathematics degree, is highly sought-after by brands of all kinds. Coca Cola, Mars Inc. and

Schneider is one of several young YouTubers that have become brand darlings as advertisers seek to connect with Gen-Exers in an authentic voice. Based in Los Angeles, he continues to specialize in the  novel reinerpretations of popular artists’ tunes that earned him his reputation.

“I go for the magic,” says Hugo. “love to experience a great performance–so much so that I want to create my own productions. I love to play with all those elements that go into making something wonderful.” Who knew 40 million monthly views could be that simple!