Last week I was hanging out with friends looking at YouTube videos. Sitting around watching YouTubes has become a common activity amongst our generation. One of my friends excitedly asked if we had seen this music video titled "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen - Feat. Justin Bieber, Selena, Ashley Tisdale & MORE! The video captures Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Ashley Tisdale hanging out with their friends, dancing and lip syncing to the song titled "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen. When not appearing on the red carpets, these pops stars like to have fun with their friends and do stuff that regular kids like to do, such as make YouTubes. YouTube has become one of the most utilized platforms for self-broadcasting and perhaps finding the next big star. After all, YouTube is the cause for spreading the "Bieber Fever" epidemic. The song "Call Me Maybe" has become instantly popular, even playing at a couple parties that I have recently attended. This video was only updated 3 weeks ago and has over 20,367,704 views.
Prior to watching the YouTube, I was unaware of the artist and never heard of her song. The popularity of this YouTube had me thinking about today's digital social media and how one post or upload of some sort can instantly change someone's life. Since I was unfamiliar with Carly Rae Jepsen, I decided to look into her music career background. When I typed Carly Rae Jepsen into Google, to not much surprise, there was a Wikipedia article on her. According to Wikipedia, Carly is a Canadian artist who was a contestant on the 5th season of Canadian Idol in 2007. Apparently Carly has been in the industry for quite some time now. Her second album was released only last month in February, which features the single "Call Me Maybe." As I further read the Wiki article, interestingly enough, Carly is signed with the same manager as Justin Bieber (Scooter Braun). Taking all these factors into consideration, I cannot help but make the assumption that the "Call Me Maybe" YouTube was a simple market tactic to help publicize Carly Rae Jepsen's single and to gain name recognition. In my opinion, it was a brilliant PR move.
Lets break this logic down: Justin Beiber and Selena Goemz are one of the most famous and idolized pop stars of this time. Specifically, towards the young tween female demographic. Justin and Selena have massive fan followings and the fan loyalty is quite over whelming. Since Carly Rae Jepsen is an upcoming, young pop star, why not take advantage of Justin and Selena's fan loyalty!? Of course their die heart fans are going to watch a video of their favorite stars singing and without a doubt, they are going to share the video with all their friends who are just as obsessed as they are. Not only are the fans going to watch the video, but they are going to download and search for the song "Call Me Maybe." There you have it: Carly Rae Jepsen is now rising to stardom and social media is a huge thanks to it. Ten years ago, most stars would rise to fame by airing on MTV or in entertainment magazines. Better yet, the radio would be one of the first mediums to promote a new artist and hit single. With all the social media mediums, it seems that TV and the radio is not the most effective way to promote music or up coming stars such as Carly Rae Jepsen. So what I am I trying to get at is how much influence does the new media have over the old media? With the song becoming popular through YouTube, do mediums such as the radio or TV rely on the digital social media mediums for content? I can only imagine in a matter of time, "Call Me Maybe" will be blasting in car radios and the YouTube will be talked about on some entertainment show. What are your thoughts on old media relying on new media and what do you think of the YouTube being a marketing tactic in general!?
The YouTube for your pleasure : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsBsBU3vn6M
Wikipedia Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carly_Rae_Jepsen
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