Emilee Maciel
Western Sun managing editor
With every minute that goes by, 60 hours worth of video is uploaded to YouTube, while over 800 million users watch 300 billion hours of video per month. YouTube is a place where people can laugh and share crazy videos with each other, and a place where an average person can become famous.
With the right amount of hits to your video, you too can become a famous YouTube star. This is present with people like Lucas Cruikshank who rose to fame with his character Fred.
Cruikshank started off with just uploading a series of videos, playing his character with an annoying high-pitched voice that seemed to hit it off with viewers. Now, he has his own television show with Nickelodeon and merchandise being sold at every Hot Topic.
Another example of a YouTube rise to fame story is “Epic Meal Time,” a series of imaginative and raunchy cooking shows led by a group of comedic men. “Epic Meal Time” started off with word-of-mouth fame, but after appearing on “The Jay Leno Show”, they were on everyone’s minds and screens. They too got sponsored by Hot Topic, and now have merchandise being sold there.
When best-kept-secret acts get promoted to mainstream fame, people often accuse these performers as selling out. Along with the accusations comes the backlash, with super fans becoming outraged that their favorite band was used in a commercial or has signed with a major record label.
Former Black Flag singer, Henry Rollins, speaks about selling out and says, “Selling out is making an album you’re told to make, instead of the one you want to make. I wonder if it ever occurred to these people that the reason the music of these interesting and alternative bands is being recruited is because their fans are the ones calling the shots.”
Performers who supposedly “sell-out” shouldn’t be blamed for doing so. These people work very hard to produce something that they think that other people will like, so why shouldn’t they benefit from being mainstream a little?
