The power of Youtube is not a new thing. Everybody uses it, to post and watch vlogs, random videos or music covers. To have an idea, every minute 300 hours of video is uploaded at the website. However, to be a success you need more than just a beautiful voice, as there are already many and different kinds of it at Youtube. You can be really lucky or you need to have a special talent.
One of these successful channels is Pentatonix, a band without instruments that got more than a billion views at youtube and over 9.1 million subscribers. Besides this they won a Grammy and participated in the Hollywood movie “Pitch Perfect 2”. This week they are number one at the Billboard 200 charts, beating the ex Disney Channel star Demi Lovato, this example just shows the power of social media and the legion of fans it brings around the World.
“This is perhaps the first time in history that an a capella group has topped the all-encompassing albums chart” (FORBES) This is not the first time it happened in the band’s History. Their first album was the 4th most sold cd in U.S.A last year.
You are wrong if you think they stopped to post youtube videos and even more if u think the cover days are over, because this is what makes them famous and relevant. Social media has the power to make a person or a band popular in one second, but stay in fame is even harder. Do you think it is hard for artists to survive on a platform like Youtube?
Sources:
http://hypebot.com/hypebot/2014/11/how-pentatonix-built-a-social-media-powerhouse.html
http://www.foxla.com/good-day/good-day-la-features/37239133-story
http://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2015/10/26/pentatonix-debuts-at-number-one-with-their-new-self-titled-album/
I would argue that it is actually easier for artists to survive on platforms like YouTube. MySpace was initially met with great reception due to its ability to bring artists and fans closer together, and this really helped to shoot some bands to fame. I think this is indicative of the importance of not just producing content for fans, but engaging with them.
This has been seen using common forms of social media such as Twitter. Famous house DJ, Jackmaster, is really active on twitter and often responds to fans requests for track IDs from his sets or other conversations, which has a resounding impact on his popularity.
YouTube offers an even higher level of media richness, which theoretically means higher engagement for users. If artists can provide additional content to bring themselves closer to their fans, and build a distinct brand, I actually think they will be able to strengthen their position & reach sustained popularity.