YouTube is a unique platform that has allowed people to gain fame and fortune at an accelerated pace since 2005. Since then, many people have flocked to the site for entertainment, learning experiences and connection. This site has also birthed YouTube musicians.
For the sake of this article I will not be talking about YouTubers who create their channel as a way to almost explicitly express their music.
I will be talking about creators who are still present on their YouTube channel posting regular content while also pursuing music. Especially those who have not reached mainstream success.
If you were on the internet at all during the summer of 2017, then you probably know the phrase “It’s Everyday Bro.” This phrase and the song with the same name was coined by YouTuber and former Disney star Jake Paul. The “It’s Everyday Bro” music video currently has 251 million views on YouTube.
These are numbers that some musicians can only dream of. This song caused a riot of memes and a lot of kickback. Paul’s single garnered responses in the form of songs from his brother, Logan Paul, and another popular creator, RiceGum, along with an innumerable amount of parodies and commentaries.
These songs were all made very quickly and it shows. Paul even said that “It’s Everyday Bro” was written in less than a day.
These type of people, the ones with cult followings, don’t care about the quality of their content.
They know that whatever they do their loyal fan base will follow them through whatever drama or crazy stunts they are a part of.
These quickly put-together and flashy music videos give music created by YouTubers a bad name. These singles lack credibility and since they are the most seen on the platform, this idea that all YouTuber music is bad is created.
People are easy to dismiss music put out by these creators because they think, “How can a person who puts out lack luster video content be able to make good music?”
There are YouTubers who actually strive for musical success, such as Gabbie Hanna and Scotty Sire. Both of these artists started off on Vine and quickly moved to YouTube when the former platform was shut down.
Both of these creators have put out albums in the past few months. Hanna released “2WAYMIRROR” and Sire released “What’s Going On.” They’re actually good.
Although they have both put out full musical projects, and Sire is currently even on tour for his album, they are still posting regularly on YouTube in their original style.
Which is understandable, since that’s where they received their fame. Sire has almost 3 million subscribers on YouTube, while Hanna has almost 7 million.
While they are popular on the site I think it will be hard for them to reach mainstream success in the music community if they are still focusing on YouTube. Possibly because new fans can be thrown off by the cult followings that these artists have from social media.
I also think it must be scary for the creators to jump ship like that from a secure platform where they know they are succeeding.
Do they fear that they will lose their fans from YouTube if they decided to pursue music fully? Or could they be afraid of putting everything into the music and then failing?
The truth is that these creators who actually put effort into their music, such as Hanna and Sire, will thrive on the internet no matter what they do.
That is all they’ve done for the past couple of years. They will find a way to make it work and keep afloat.
Their music is good, but they are stifled by their social media background because no one will give them the credibility that they deserve.
Which is because creators, such as the Paul brothers, can put out less than desirable music without caring. This gives a bad name to the whole YouTube community.
These respectable creators will always be seen as YouTubers first and musicians second.
RACHEL MACKOWIAK
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