Photo by Ryan McGuire via gratisography.com
Ever since a certain baby named Charlie made the world-changing decision to bite his brother’s finger in front of a camera, marketers have developed an obsession with the idea of going viral. As with many marketing phenomena, this idea has made its way into the music world as well. Now, rather than building a fanbase through the traditional method of playing shows and releasing albums, many musicians are looking to fast-track their way to success by creating viral videos. After all, who wouldn’t love becoming an overnight sensation thanks to the success of a single video?
But what if going viral wasn’t the wonderful thing we all imagine it to be? And what if trying to go viral could actually be hurting your music career?
The real results of going viral
While marketers have been obsessed with going viral for years, some marketers are now starting to change their perspective based on recent findings. Last year, social analytics firm Socialbakers released the results of a study looking into the links between viral videos and long-term success for major brands. They found no link whatsoever between the release of a viral video and the growth of a brand’s YouTube channel.
“What we found was that for brands posting videos that went viral, their YouTube channels didn’t see any long-term increase in the amount of daily video views before the video was posted versus after,” said Socialbakers CEO Jan Rezab. “In fact, our data indicates that virality has a window of about two weeks. After 15 days from the creation of a viral video, these brand YouTube channels receive virtually the same amount of attention (daily video views) that they received before the viral video was posted.”
This same phenomenon can apply to the music world. A viral video can give you a temporary boost, but if you don’t build on that attention, you’re likely to end up back where you started.
The wrong focus
The viral mentality tells us to focus on three things: clicks, likes, and shares. The value of a piece of viral content is determined not by how deeply people engage with it, but with how many people see it, like it, and share it. The problem with this approach is that clicks, likes, and shares are not the same as fans.
Unless you have a well-thought-out strategy for turning viewers into fans, going viral doesn’t actually help you that much. If you want to build a sustainable career as an artist, you don’t need lots of clicks; you need a devoted following of fans who will buy your songs, concert tickets, and merch for years to come. This is the type of following you develop by engaging authentically with people who legitimately care about your music. Unfortunately, meaningful engagement is much harder to measure than likes and shares, so marketing wisdom tends to push us in the direction of what can be measured instead of what really matters.
The overnight success story
Of course, going viral isn’t all bad. Take Canadian rock band Walk Off the Earth, for example. Their unique cover of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” in which all five band members play a single guitar, was one of the biggest viral hits of 2012, and now has over 170 million views on YouTube. This video launched the band into the international spotlight, and they’ve now managed to build a successful career from the success of the video.
In contrast to what many people assume, however, this success didn’t happen overnight. The band has been clear that they had all been working hard in the music industry for years before their first viral hit. “It’s not just something we did on a whim; it’s something that we’ve worked towards. We’ve worked really hard,” said band member Sarah Blackwood when asked about the success to their first viral video.
The authenticity hoax
It’s also not an accident that Walk Off the Earth has been able to build a sustainable career off of one viral video. A big reason for their success is that they simply love creating unique music videos. Because of this, they’ve been able to build on the success of one viral video by releasing more viral videos, such as their recent cover of Adele’s “Hello,” in which they play the song on a surfboard using two tap dancers as percussionists. For most bands, this would come across as gimmicky, but for Walk Off the Earth, the authenticity is what sells these videos. This band is truly devoted to the craft of making interesting YouTube cover videos, and most viewers instantly recognize their talent and dedication.
Could your band replicate Walk Off the Earth’s success by filming your own unique one-take covers of popular songs? Maybe. Would it come across as authentic? That depends on what your values really are.
If you’re thinking about trying to make a viral music video, it might be a good idea to stop and ask yourself what you really want. If you’re looking for a way to achieve overnight success, or just looking for some sort of social validation of your skills, then you’re probably looking in the wrong place. If, on the other hand, you’re willing to spend several years pouring your blood, sweat, and tears into making videos that won’t necessarily get any traction, simply because you love making interesting and engaging videos, then you may be the person to produce the next big viral hit. Just don’t expect it to happen tomorrow.
Casey van Wensem is a freelance composer, musician, and writer living in Kelowna, B.C., Canada. You can hear his musical work at birdscompanionmusic.com and read his written work at caseyvanwensemwriting.com.
