Can you feel the algorithm?: YouTube and Spreadable Music
So, YouTube will be having it’s first ever “Video Awards” this year. For more information, here’s a video they’ve put together to explain the idea:
As you’ll note, it’s not just an encouragement to vote but to further spread YouTube delivered content around the web.
Jason Schwartzman, host of the YouTube Awards.
What does this mean with regard to the institutions of the industry (for example the RIAA who run the grammys)? Also, how do we think of this as a cultural and economic strategy for the music industry?
It might be helpful to think about this in terms of the controlled uses of viral media for economic gains, or something akin to what Henry Jenkins and his co-authors have described as “spreadable media.” Here’s an interview with them talking about their argument.
I think that something like the YTMA’s was bound to happen with the realization world-wide how great/fast of an outlet the internet and especially YouTube videos can get into the public sphere. I think that in a way, by having moere of these “award shows” the RIAA will definitely feel as though award shows are beginning to become more “dime a dozen” and they may feel as though the legitimacy of award shows is being taken less seriously (especially with things like the happenings at VMA’s, etc.).
This being said, award shows such as the Grammy’s, Juno’s, etc. hold more of a tradition value than these more recent “younger audience” based awards and so I don’t think that they will be affected too much in the sense of stopping the further continuation of these specific award shows, but maybe will only veer certain viewers away because they are more interested in watching certain ones, such as the YTMA’s.