Let’s begin by introducing three different versions of cover songs on YouTube – which will be discussed more in depth in a bit. The first video is Justin Bieber before he became famous. He actually started out as a youtube singer, and although I am not a fan of him at all, I don’t think you can discuss successful online covers without mentioning him. The second video is one of my favorite covers online. And not just because it’s from my church, Flatirons Community Church, or because the man singing, Tommy, is a friend of mine and one of the nicest people on the face of the earth – although that does play a role. It’s just a damn good cover. Also, I know it only says it has around 7,000 views, but it actually has a crap ton more if viewed during the full service on the church’s website since the church is viewed in over 100 countries. Lastly, we have Cathy May. She’s so bad she’s fantastic. Her video has over 3 million views because of how terrible and funny she is.
Take a moment to appreciate these videos.
Okay. So the most important thing to making an online cover is to either have talent or be memorable. In the words of Tommy the other day, “what I lack in creativity I make up for in originality”. Although he said that sarcastically, I still think it’s applicable because all of these covers have a sense of originality that have caused them to stick with their audience. The Justin Bieber video for example, his originality in his covers is what caused him to explode into the international pop star that he is. Tommy’s cover has originality because he modernized a classic song. As well as the fact that those two are obviously talented. And Cathy May, we’ll she’s the epitome of original. Her entire video is very memorable. From the way she hardly ever looks at the camera to her random little dance moves throughout.
Another important step, which all of these people have, is a “hub”; individuals form loose social associations around a central figure, as in the case of fan clubs. After a while they begin to build up an online fan base that get’s committed to watching their videos. Many people love to watch Cathy May videos. Anytime I miss a church service that Tommy sang at I watch it online because I love when he sings.
Make sure your “hub” or “fan base” has a platform to circulate your video. It is best to make sure that it can be shared via Facebook since many of the people that spread media have affiliations with social networking platforms. If you can get a video into circulation than you can bet on it’s spreadability from there on out.
That’s the few things you need to have a successful youtube video. Be memorable, be original, and build yourself a hub. From there your song cover can spread around the internet. To guarantee stickiness is another step. With that you need to impact the viewer with your content. Cathy May sticks with many people because she makes us laugh. Tommy sticks with a lot of people because of the community he is a part of is a shared community that many of the viewers are a part of (Flatirons Community Church), although there are a lot of people who happen across FCC covers online – further showing the power of spreadability.