You’ve probably noticed that social media is on the rise.
You may not have noticed that it’s at full-speed, and it’s taking over.
You, like many others including myself, are probably
struggling to understand it. It’s overwhelming to even consider answering the
flurry of questions that come to mind.
One particular question has been poking me in the sides more
vigorously: how are artists taking advantage of these tools and claiming their
fame so efficiently?
Here’s what made me wonder. Here’s what randomly, yet pretty significantly, inspired me.
Two weeks ago: My friend shows me a YouTube video on his
iPhone of five people that produced a song with only one guitar.
Five days ago: I’m
at a get together with a group of friends when someone plays that same video,
but this time, I sit down, listen and watch closely. I realize that the group
is amazing. They’re five unique pieces to one incredible puzzle.
I noticed that each person had a special job, whether it was
singing a verse or the chorus, using the body of the guitar to establish a
beat, or even adjusting the machine heads to tune the guitar accordingly as the
song progressed.
We ended up watching the video about four times throughout
the evening.
Today: I’m on my
way to a coffee shop to do some homework and I turn on the radio. You know
exactly what was playing.
I needed to know more. Homework could wait.
It turns out the video has almost 60 million views and it’s
only been hosted for one month. Who are these people?
It turns out that the song I heard on the radio was the original song, called Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye. The cover video, done by Walk Off The Earth caused so much hype that the original song has gotten some extra spotlight.
I’ll go as far as saying the cover is very different, and in my opinion, better because of the variety in character and overall quality of the song. I
think the YouTube community will agree, considering the original only has about
80 million views. Yes, it's a lot more, but the cover has gained 3/4 of the views in a much shorter amount of time.
With a bit more research, I’ll admit that I was disappointed
to find out that their fame has stemmed from a compilation of cover videos—I
was really hoping for more original music from the fivesome.
On the bright side, watching their videos is still
enjoyable. It’s easy to see that they love their fans and that they keep them
in consideration when they produce their music (although I can only take so
much of recycled music.)
Usually covers are hit or miss and if you produce so many,
you’re bound to have a few misses, which drives people away. In this case, the
success of Somebody That I Used To Know
has carried the audience past that.
Finally, I haven’t figured out why this WOTE group is so
famous. My only guess is that people love their character. Each individual has
a distinct style and plays an important role when they participate in the
videos. Personally, I’ve subscribed to
them and I’m going to follow their journey, but that’s only temporary. If I
don’t see any original music soon, I’ll slowly drift away and go back to my
iTunes library… I just can’t help it. They’ll become some indie band that I used to
know.
4 comments:
They've just been signed and are blossoming out of the cover/youtube stage. Personally I'm always impressed when artists can find a way to get noticed on Youtube when there's an endless sea of artists trying to get noticed. You've got to do something amazing to get people's attention and I really admire WOTE for coming up with their quirky/creative videos that showcase their talent. I hope their original stuff turns out to be as fantastic as the videos they're putting out and I really hope people stay tuned to see them grow. Great post!
It also has something to do with Sarah Blackwood of the Creepshow for sure. Great voice, and terribly attractive. They are playing here this week too actually, if you want to add to the high novelty you have gotten off this. You can see her in the flesh!
Interesting piece! Truth is, nobody makes it off of one lucky stroke. These guys have probably been grinding hard for years and their newfound success - I'm sure you'd agree - is well deserved. Social Media is a great tool for promotion, but for anyone to give half a flying f*ck, you have to be damn good. It's no longer about being better than the people in your school, city, country... you are now in competition with the entire world on a massive, level playing field. Truth is that is one hell of a song. It's a beast of it's own right and the novelty of seeing five people play it on one guitar (plus the gorgeous Sarah Blackwood who's deep stare and sideways head gesture is absolutely entrancing) just adds to that. How they sit so closely and never break character - It is an incredible video and the song truly tells a story. People love a good story.
That being said, I'm not sure where you saw 300,000 views but the original song has over 81 million views. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UVNT4wvIGY
A monster in and of itself.
Gotye has also been grinding for years. Look him up and read about his former band, The Basics and how he recorded all his music in a barn in Australia. I have a feeling he's about to become an international sensation (some might say he already is) and that is the fruit of years of hard work and the wonderful writing/recording abilities he's developed over that time.
Just some ideas I've had kicking around. This video/song also fascinated me. I encourage you to listen to more of Gotye's stuff. I got his album "Making Mirrors" and I was absolutely blown away. Another great single I like from Gotye is "Hearts a mess" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvbSiQZfACQ
Cheers!
Wow, thanks Phil. I had a hard time believing the the low numbers but for some reason I must've skipped over the proper link when I was searching. Thanks for the heads up.
KayCie we're definitely on the same page, and Lydia, don't even get me started. To add to everything you guys said about her, she's incredibly personable when she intro/concludes their videos.
Post a Comment