Lofi Girl is celebrating the launch of Lofi House, its new 24/7 radio, and the American community that has supported the channel’s growth. Launched Sept. 17, Lofi House features a compilation from 19 Lofi Records artists, a Spotify playlist, a vinyl edition available for preorder and a new character: Julien Maison, known as Lofi Teacher, a biology teacher by day and the DJ of Lofi House after hours.
Eleven years after the YouTube channel’s creation, the launch offers an opportunity to recognize its international audience. Across Lofi Girl’s channel and label, more than 90% of its YouTube audience is outside France. The U.S. is its largest market across all platforms, accounting for about a third of its audience. These figures reflect Lofi Girl overall, rather than the new radio.
American listeners have played an important role in the community that named the girl at the window in 2017 and has kept the live chat running as a round-the-clock study room ever since.
“The American community has been with us almost from the start. People were studying to the radio in dorm rooms in the U.S. long before anyone here knew what to call what we were doing. Lofi House is for those same people, a few hours later in the day,” said Dim, founder of Lofi Girl.
The expansion into house music was developed with the label’s own roster. Nineteen Lofi Records artists contributed exclusive tracks, many of them producers with backgrounds in electronic music.
“I started making EDM when I was 15, so having the opportunity to combine the music I grew up producing with the music I now make for a living feels very natural,” said Akraa, one of four artists who shaped the project’s direction.
The launch unfolded through a public, in-universe event. On Sept. 16, Jade, known as Lofi Girl, disappeared from the main radio as a countdown livestream slowly approached a school’s facade. When the countdown reached zero, Lofi House went live with an original animation showing Julien returning home, placing a record on a turntable and mixing music at golden hour.
