Next in my continuing series of things no one that reads this stupid blog cares about....TA DA! The Youtube partnership program. Those unfamiliar with the program, it works like this. Since Google bought Youtube awhile back, Google has been trying very hard to make money from the site (which at the moment is failing miserably. Youtube is a huge cash suck and they lose money every day due to the fact it costs over 1 million dollars PER DAY to keep the site online) and in doing so, have given incentives to the most watched content creators to keep making videos for their site. That incentive being, a percentage of the advertising money they make on their particular channels and videos. Any idiots out there that don't use Firefox's fantastic addon "AdBlockPlus" are constantly assaulted with ads on Youtube. Be it in the sidebar next to the video, little annoying pop ups during the videos, or even full video ads before the viewing of a particularly highly viewed video. (As I said before. Use Firefox and get "AdBlockPlus" I've never seen one single ad or had a single video interrupted on pretty much any site on the internet.)
The way these content creators make money is by the number of views they get in their videos and how many "clicks" they get from the viewers. Clicks, being people actually clicking on the ads to be taken from Youtube to whatever they might be selling. The more clicks they get, the bigger the content creator's paycheck from Youtube will be. Additionally the higher the view count, the more money they make as well. Simply for the fact that even if people don't click on the ads, more people are actually seeing the ads all over the video.
You also might have noticed many creators on Youtube have a "question of the day" or ask you to rate the videos 5 stars every time you watch. The reason this is done is because of a fairly recent addition Youtube made to the viewing of random videos. There is now a "Popular" section you can see on Youtube and has a list of videos. How they determine what is popular is complicated and I've yet to hear a coherent explanation of how it works. Basically, the more times a video gets rated 5 stars, the more comments that each video gets, the more "Popular" it becomes. Hence, getting their videos featured on that particular page. Hence making it easier for people to find their videos and then getting more viewers and more clickers and more money.
This partnership program has pretty drastically changed Youtube since it began. Before, regularly posted content from popular channels were not usually very high in quality (best example of this being the most subscribed person on Youtube, nigahiga. His older videos looked like total bullshit. His videos were hilarious and hence he still got truck loads of views) due to the fact that people were just doing it for fun. Now that Youtube has become a business, you can see a massive rise in quality of the content being created.
A good sized portion of the Youtube community has become upset at this new business model for the content creators. For the fact that the major players on Youtube, this is now their job. This is what they do to make money and support themselves and their family. And the most subscribed creators on Youtube are making very very comfortable lives for themselves as well. The popular gossip Michael Buckley (WHATTHEBUCK) went on an old media campaign awhile back (old media being television. That's the new buzz phrase for big internet players these days) and was asked several times how much he makes for his videos on Youtube. And his slightly vague response was that he makes six figures a year from his videos. Another famous Youtuber by the name of Philip DeFranco gave an interview last year. The interviewer commented about something on his Myspace page where it said how much money he makes per year. Phil's page said it was $250,000+. The interviewer asked him if that was accurate or if it was just a joke. Phil replied when he did that, it initially was a joke. But as of 2009, that had become pretty much accurate.
A much less popular channel whose show is called "Is it Okay to Microwave This?" is exactly what it sounds like. They put random and awesome things in a microwave and just watches what happens. About a year or so back, they made a video that discussed their participation in the program (when they were much less popular. They had a recent spike and are now almost at 300k subscribers) and he said that they make a couple thousand dollars a month. Which is enough for them to get by with bills and keep funding the show. So, 2k a month for 12 months in a year, 24k for putting flash bulbs, dynamite, RC cars and a car airbag in a microwave is a pretty damn nice gig.
Youtube purists are getting mad at these partners because they feel the community should all be about just making the videos and they should not be making money off loyal viewers. My response to this is...
That is fucking retarded. Internet video is skyrocketing at a pace that few things in this world do. Youtube has stated that there is 20 hours of videos that get uploaded to their site every minute. Let me say that again. Twenty HOURS of video that gets uploaded EVERY SINGLE MINUTE. Top Youtubers like Ryan Higa, Shane Dawson and Philip DeFranco are being watched by more people than the top television shows on cable. Sorry to break it to you internet. But video is a business now. And I applaud the ones that can make a living doing what they do.
Would all these people still be making videos if the partnership program was never invented? Most of them probably still would. Much less often, but when they got some free time, sure, they'd still throw stuff up. Now that this is their job. That they are getting paid handsomely for, so much more content is available to see. Personally, that is fantastic. The more time I get to waste, watching people that I like, the better.
To all you haters out there (I love how I delude myself to the fact that people will ever read this) I have one thing to say. Shut the fuck up. Don't be pissed at these people because they didn't respond to your comment. Don't be pissed because they didn't write back to you from that email you sent. Quit bitching that they don't care about their viewers anymore and it's all about money. Yes, about 90% of it is about money. That is their job. If you go around flaming every person because they can make a living doing this, then you must also go into a restaurant, yell at the cooks, the waitresses and the bus boys for being there doing their jobs and taking home a pay check. "YOUR JUS DOIN IT FER DA MONEYZZZZ!!!" Exactly. That is their job.
Don't be pissed off because they have a better job than you.
(To my two readers out there, I am sorry about the punctuation in all of my posts. I am the furthest possible thing from a professional writer and I know I punctuate sooooo badly. It drives me crazy too because I never learned how to do it correctly.)
Keep it gangsta internets.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
An Objective Analysis of Miley Cyrus
This may seem like an odd topic for me to write about. I would have to completely agree with you. For the most part, I turn my back on all of the pre-packaged bubblegum, 1 hour photo music artists that are in the mainstream. It just doesn't work for me. And I will say the same for Miley Cyrus. No, I am not a fan by any means. She is a pop singer and that genre doesn't have any appeal to me. However, this particular person is something I need to address.
Miley is bashed relentlessly in every corner of the internet from people outside her target demographic. There are two kinds of people. The "I love Miley, she's super fantastical and I worship the ground she walks on!" kind of people. And then there are the, "I want to stab that dumb bitch in the face with a broken beer bottle!" group.
Seeing that the majority of music videos that get watched these days are on Youtube, Miley's "7 Things" video is the third most watched video of all time, raking in over 111 million views. Seeing as everyone on the internet is a professional reviewer for everything that has ever been created, I figured I'd go over some of the more popular criticisms from the comments on her Youtube videos.
Popular flame number 1. SHE SUCKZZZZ!!!1111!!!!!
Before writing this, I asked a few Miley haters that I happen to talk to on the internet why they think she sucks. The most popular response I got is, "Dude, she just sucks." So, let's go over her music. Are her songs lyrically powerful? No, they really aren't. The most emotional song I've been able to find was her "7 Things" video talking about her breakup with one of the Jonas Brothers. (I don't know which one. They all look the same to me.) The song was obviously written with feeling which is good to have in music. The chorus was incredibly catchy and no matter how much you may like or hate her, the damn song will get stuck in your head. For a pop song, I think that's what most singers are going for.
As for her other songs, most of them are very very catchy. The choruses are easy to memorize and easy to sing along with. Once again, probably what pop singers are looking for. However, like almost all popular music (regardless of genre) this is becoming ever more apparent. I read somewhere (I can't cite sources. I'm not a professional. I'm an alcoholic who is waiting for season 3 of Battlestar Galactica to download so I'm doing this for kicks) that most of the songs in the last several years to be in the top 20 on the Billboard charts consist of 75% chorus of the running length of the song. That's awful. Just awful. And, Miss Cyrus is guilty of this as well.
The people who write her songs (yes she co-writes some and completely writes others but none of the songs she has fully written herself have become famous at all) know this very well and it has worked for many people over the years, most notably, Miss Britany Spears. So, what I'm getting at, lyrically, she isn't phenomenal. Her songs are written to be played on the radio and not to be really appreciated for much longer than the normal radio song's lifespan.
Let's move on to the music itself. The newer Miley is starting to get comparisons to Avril Lav...blah blah blah I don't care how her last name is spelled. She is infusing a lot of pop-punkesque riffs in the music instead of the typical slow jam, pop star music everyone else uses. Which I think is fairly commendable. It does stand out a bit more and makes me take more notice when I'm being forced to listen to the radio. And yes, I realize she also has those slow jam pop generic songs too. (The Climb, I'm looking at you.) Bottom line. Is the music good? For a pop singer these days, yes. I think her music is helping her step out of the shadow that she might have fallen into.
Her voice. On album her voice basically sounds fine. That's about it. It's just okay. She is most obviously auto-tuned like just about everyone else in the business. But her voice is pretty strong and I don't hate it. It's just...fine. Live, her voice is not as great. She gets pretty pitchy and misses a lot of notes and just doesn't sound that great. She does also use an overlay track in her live performances as well, so if she has to stop singing, lyrics can still be heard from a pre-recording. Does this bother me? Yes and no. Yes because I think if someone can't put on a strong performance live, they aren't worth paying to see. The "no" is that she is very active on stage. She has huge set designs and is running up and down and all over the massive stage and would obviously lose her breath after awhile. So, live performance, Eh.
Let's move onto the internet troll's next biggest complaint. "SHE'D BE NOBODY WITHOUT DADDY AND DISNEY!"
First of all, if you were going to get a bump from a star parent, Billy Ray Fucking Cyrus is not one that is going to do it. He was a one hit wonder and his song wasn't even liked. It was made fun of. He didn't get famous for a good song. He got famous for a really annoying song that was ripe for satire. Secondly, Disney. Would she be famous right now without Disney? The answer is obviously no. Hannah Montana made her who she is. Disney knows how to make money and they know how to market the living HELL out of anything they sell. This is proven quite well where at my store we have a full supply of Hannah Montana hand sanitizer and an even larger supply of Camp Rock notebooks, binders, pencils, pens and many many other things. Would she be so big if Disney just put out a couple T-shirts and backpacks and just ran promos for her show on Disney? No she wouldn't. Disney bombarded the entire world with her face in every corner they could cram it.
For a singer, publicity is a good thing. But all her publicity comes with a huge price. She is owned by Disney. She has no creative freedom. She is owned and I doubt you'll ever see an album of hers released outside of Hollywood Records. (Owned by Disney) Bottom line, she is a product of a corporation. She didn't get there on her merits. She got there because of a multimillion dollar advertising campaign.
Last most popular internet complaint. OMGZZZ SHE IZ SUCH A SLUTTT!!!!
I believe this comment has come about lately due to the fact that Miley has begun to wear more provocative clothing than she use to. Her "Party in the USA" video had her dancing around in booty shorts and a low cut shirt (I think. I don't want to go watch the video to be exact here.) Her performance at some award show nonsense, she was seen holding onto a stripper pole that was moving around. People were screaming she was dancing like a stripper when in fact she did nothing with the pole except hold onto it so she didn't fall on her ass while that contraption was moving.
Here are the facts folks. She doesn't want to be Hannah Montana forever. She's 16 or 17 now. She wants to be an actual singer that isn't a novelty act for a kids television show. She has to start changing her image if she is going to have a career after her TV show is over. Her publicists know this and she knows this. So, she's starting to look and dress like teenagers dress these days. She has a nice body and she's starting to show it off. If you think that makes her a slut, I expect you to call every single pretty girl you ever see walking down the street a slut because they wear a short skirt or a low cut top that reveals cleavage.
The next reason this is being done is because sex sells everything. In the music world, skin is everywhere. I cannot think of one single singer from the last 10 years that has been hugely successful without also being seen as a sex symbol. (With the exception of Taylor Swift, but we all know that bitch can't sing a note to save her life outside of a recording studio. Proof? Watch some her live performances lately. They were some of the worst shit I've ever heard) Eventually, they all start showing skin. Yes, it sucks that most have to do that, but the hard fact is, it works. Their bodies sell magazines and posters and their music videos get watched millions of times. It just works. She is doing nothing here that hasn't been done a thousand times before by other singers.
And then there were her "racy photos" that showed up all over the internet awhile back. If any single one of you finds those photos "racy" at all, feel free to lie down in the freeway and do us all a favor. She is a teenager with a camera. Those kinds of pictures, not to mention far far worse ones, are taken by millions of teenage girls every single day. If you call her a slut for those pictures, once again, use the example above of calling out pretty much every teenage girl in the country.
I could go on but seeing as this analysis has gone on about five times longer than I originally intended it to, I'll just start my parting here. Does Miley Cyrus deserve all the criticism she gets? No, she doesn't at all. She's a kid that's trying to make her way in the music business and trying to get her songs heard. She has faults. She's a teenager. I promise every single one of you 5 people who read this have done worse things when you were her age. Don't hate her because she's popular. If you really want to show protest, don't watch her videos. Don't leave comments on them. Stop talking about her. All the hate and attention just makes her flame even bigger.
Lastly, if any of you are wondering why I seem to know all these things about Miley Cyrus, yes I would probably call me gay too. Some I learn because I am on the internet all the time and that stuff just can't be avoided sometimes. And for some, yes I did research. I was hoping to make my points as best I could.
LEAVE MILEY ALONE!!!!
Miley is bashed relentlessly in every corner of the internet from people outside her target demographic. There are two kinds of people. The "I love Miley, she's super fantastical and I worship the ground she walks on!" kind of people. And then there are the, "I want to stab that dumb bitch in the face with a broken beer bottle!" group.
Seeing that the majority of music videos that get watched these days are on Youtube, Miley's "7 Things" video is the third most watched video of all time, raking in over 111 million views. Seeing as everyone on the internet is a professional reviewer for everything that has ever been created, I figured I'd go over some of the more popular criticisms from the comments on her Youtube videos.
Popular flame number 1. SHE SUCKZZZZ!!!1111!!!!!
Before writing this, I asked a few Miley haters that I happen to talk to on the internet why they think she sucks. The most popular response I got is, "Dude, she just sucks." So, let's go over her music. Are her songs lyrically powerful? No, they really aren't. The most emotional song I've been able to find was her "7 Things" video talking about her breakup with one of the Jonas Brothers. (I don't know which one. They all look the same to me.) The song was obviously written with feeling which is good to have in music. The chorus was incredibly catchy and no matter how much you may like or hate her, the damn song will get stuck in your head. For a pop song, I think that's what most singers are going for.
As for her other songs, most of them are very very catchy. The choruses are easy to memorize and easy to sing along with. Once again, probably what pop singers are looking for. However, like almost all popular music (regardless of genre) this is becoming ever more apparent. I read somewhere (I can't cite sources. I'm not a professional. I'm an alcoholic who is waiting for season 3 of Battlestar Galactica to download so I'm doing this for kicks) that most of the songs in the last several years to be in the top 20 on the Billboard charts consist of 75% chorus of the running length of the song. That's awful. Just awful. And, Miss Cyrus is guilty of this as well.
The people who write her songs (yes she co-writes some and completely writes others but none of the songs she has fully written herself have become famous at all) know this very well and it has worked for many people over the years, most notably, Miss Britany Spears. So, what I'm getting at, lyrically, she isn't phenomenal. Her songs are written to be played on the radio and not to be really appreciated for much longer than the normal radio song's lifespan.
Let's move on to the music itself. The newer Miley is starting to get comparisons to Avril Lav...blah blah blah I don't care how her last name is spelled. She is infusing a lot of pop-punkesque riffs in the music instead of the typical slow jam, pop star music everyone else uses. Which I think is fairly commendable. It does stand out a bit more and makes me take more notice when I'm being forced to listen to the radio. And yes, I realize she also has those slow jam pop generic songs too. (The Climb, I'm looking at you.) Bottom line. Is the music good? For a pop singer these days, yes. I think her music is helping her step out of the shadow that she might have fallen into.
Her voice. On album her voice basically sounds fine. That's about it. It's just okay. She is most obviously auto-tuned like just about everyone else in the business. But her voice is pretty strong and I don't hate it. It's just...fine. Live, her voice is not as great. She gets pretty pitchy and misses a lot of notes and just doesn't sound that great. She does also use an overlay track in her live performances as well, so if she has to stop singing, lyrics can still be heard from a pre-recording. Does this bother me? Yes and no. Yes because I think if someone can't put on a strong performance live, they aren't worth paying to see. The "no" is that she is very active on stage. She has huge set designs and is running up and down and all over the massive stage and would obviously lose her breath after awhile. So, live performance, Eh.
Let's move onto the internet troll's next biggest complaint. "SHE'D BE NOBODY WITHOUT DADDY AND DISNEY!"
First of all, if you were going to get a bump from a star parent, Billy Ray Fucking Cyrus is not one that is going to do it. He was a one hit wonder and his song wasn't even liked. It was made fun of. He didn't get famous for a good song. He got famous for a really annoying song that was ripe for satire. Secondly, Disney. Would she be famous right now without Disney? The answer is obviously no. Hannah Montana made her who she is. Disney knows how to make money and they know how to market the living HELL out of anything they sell. This is proven quite well where at my store we have a full supply of Hannah Montana hand sanitizer and an even larger supply of Camp Rock notebooks, binders, pencils, pens and many many other things. Would she be so big if Disney just put out a couple T-shirts and backpacks and just ran promos for her show on Disney? No she wouldn't. Disney bombarded the entire world with her face in every corner they could cram it.
For a singer, publicity is a good thing. But all her publicity comes with a huge price. She is owned by Disney. She has no creative freedom. She is owned and I doubt you'll ever see an album of hers released outside of Hollywood Records. (Owned by Disney) Bottom line, she is a product of a corporation. She didn't get there on her merits. She got there because of a multimillion dollar advertising campaign.
Last most popular internet complaint. OMGZZZ SHE IZ SUCH A SLUTTT!!!!
I believe this comment has come about lately due to the fact that Miley has begun to wear more provocative clothing than she use to. Her "Party in the USA" video had her dancing around in booty shorts and a low cut shirt (I think. I don't want to go watch the video to be exact here.) Her performance at some award show nonsense, she was seen holding onto a stripper pole that was moving around. People were screaming she was dancing like a stripper when in fact she did nothing with the pole except hold onto it so she didn't fall on her ass while that contraption was moving.
Here are the facts folks. She doesn't want to be Hannah Montana forever. She's 16 or 17 now. She wants to be an actual singer that isn't a novelty act for a kids television show. She has to start changing her image if she is going to have a career after her TV show is over. Her publicists know this and she knows this. So, she's starting to look and dress like teenagers dress these days. She has a nice body and she's starting to show it off. If you think that makes her a slut, I expect you to call every single pretty girl you ever see walking down the street a slut because they wear a short skirt or a low cut top that reveals cleavage.
The next reason this is being done is because sex sells everything. In the music world, skin is everywhere. I cannot think of one single singer from the last 10 years that has been hugely successful without also being seen as a sex symbol. (With the exception of Taylor Swift, but we all know that bitch can't sing a note to save her life outside of a recording studio. Proof? Watch some her live performances lately. They were some of the worst shit I've ever heard) Eventually, they all start showing skin. Yes, it sucks that most have to do that, but the hard fact is, it works. Their bodies sell magazines and posters and their music videos get watched millions of times. It just works. She is doing nothing here that hasn't been done a thousand times before by other singers.
And then there were her "racy photos" that showed up all over the internet awhile back. If any single one of you finds those photos "racy" at all, feel free to lie down in the freeway and do us all a favor. She is a teenager with a camera. Those kinds of pictures, not to mention far far worse ones, are taken by millions of teenage girls every single day. If you call her a slut for those pictures, once again, use the example above of calling out pretty much every teenage girl in the country.
I could go on but seeing as this analysis has gone on about five times longer than I originally intended it to, I'll just start my parting here. Does Miley Cyrus deserve all the criticism she gets? No, she doesn't at all. She's a kid that's trying to make her way in the music business and trying to get her songs heard. She has faults. She's a teenager. I promise every single one of you 5 people who read this have done worse things when you were her age. Don't hate her because she's popular. If you really want to show protest, don't watch her videos. Don't leave comments on them. Stop talking about her. All the hate and attention just makes her flame even bigger.
Lastly, if any of you are wondering why I seem to know all these things about Miley Cyrus, yes I would probably call me gay too. Some I learn because I am on the internet all the time and that stuff just can't be avoided sometimes. And for some, yes I did research. I was hoping to make my points as best I could.
LEAVE MILEY ALONE!!!!
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