Tina Frasca: Final Paper

Christina Frasca

MJD: Williams

Due: March 26, 2014

New Digital Media: Fame Is Just A Click Away

What’s the secret behind the newest way of becoming famous? With the evolution of the Internet we see that more and more musical artists are getting their talents out into the world. Inspiration for helping members become famous occurs through sights on the web such as MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube. By easily getting their names and faces to the public, ordinary followers seem to be gaining followers. The impact of these websites introduced us to celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Mac Miller, and Lily Allen. Ultimately, the impacts of new digital media globally in the 21st century have broadened the music horizon and we see more artists becoming famous because of the easy access of the Internet.

With the Internet only becoming available to the public in 1969, the evolution of technology and media seem to have developed quickly. Over a twenty-year period small inventions such as email, AOL, and then the World Wide Web became available on the Internet. The true genesis and impact of the Internet, however, has become prevalent in the last twenty years. In 1997 there were one million sites on The Web, including blogging, SixDegrees, AOL Instant Messenger, and Blackboard. Google presented itself as the most powerful search index in 1998. Two years later, the Internet had 70 million computers connected to it. In 2001, Wikipedia started and 2002 presented Friendster, a social network of 3 million users at the time. The next year, MySpace and LinkedIn became the craze of the Internet, which grew to over three billion web pages. The most predominant social networking website so far, Facebook, emerged in 2004. Although that time period is considered the dawn of the Internet, YouTube (2005), Twitter (2006), Bing (2009), and several others sites invented since this time have impacted the globe significantly. In 2011, an astonishing 550 million users were on Facebook, 65 million tweets were sent per day, two billion videos were viewed per day on YouTube, and LinkedIn had 90 million professional users [1].These numbers only continued to grow substantially. As of 2013, YouTube had one billion monthly users alongside its 4 billion views per day. Facebook had around 1.11 billion friends; Twitter had over 500 million users, and LinkedIn had 225 million users. A bewildering 156 million different blogs stay posted.“An Australian survey found 34 percent of social network users logged on at work, 13 percent at school, and 18 percent in the car, 44 percent used social networks in bed, 7 percent in the bathroom, and 6 percent in the toilet” [2]This overburdening presence of media shows that everyone is becoming addicted.

The impact that the Internet has on the broadcasting of new artists seems incredible. In the past, the likeliness of becoming famous ascertained to be one in a million chance. To become a famous musician one needed to attract attention by creating something original, extraordinary, or controversial. The main forms of informing the public were radio, newspapers, and eventually the television. Legendary musicians such as Paul, Ringo, George, and John of the Beatles and Louis Armstrong started as insignificant civilians. They gained their fame through hard work and presenting unique styles. The controversy of the Beatles’multi-genred mixture of songs became big news, placing them in headlines and advertising their names all over the globe. Their music spread like wild fire through America, while it was overlooked in London. The Beatles broadcasted their talents on the CBS Evening News in 1963, played on radio stations in New York and Washington, and were later given three TV shows [3]. Similarly with Louis Armstrong, his controversial style of jazz presented him with elongated solos [4], which at the time were uncommon. With the civil rights movement, Armstrong played to primarily white audiences all over the world. His moving from different bands landed him gigs all over the world from the Strekfus Mississippi riverboat lines to Carroll Dickerson’s Savoy Orchestra in Chicago, as well as playing all over Europe [5]. Armstrong’s Hot Five and Hot Seven were sold all over the world, spreading his new interpretation of jazz. Musicians in the mid 1900s did not have the luxury of uploading a file online to billions of potential viewers. The current industry of music surpluses in clean opportunities compared to the cultural corruption that broadcasted historical musicians.

The success of London songwriter Lily Allen flourished with the help of the MySpace social networking site. Through Lily Allen’s father, Keith Allen, a known actor, she signed with the record company Regal. She released her most interesting eight demos to the public over her MySpace account in 2005 [6].Her followers multiplied when she added more demos, and these followers became avid fans. She connected with her fans, and replied to their fan mail because she personally “…hand wrote everyone's addresses on the front and put them in the post and that kind of got people talking” [7]. Lily Allen was an avid blogger dedicated to her fans, which added the illusion that she could have a strong, growing fan base. Eventually the fans piled up and she was able to sign to larger recording companies and had her songs played all over the world.

The ever so interesting Justin Bieber created his career through his YouTube channel. His rise to fame was actually started by his mother who posted videos of him singing on YouTube so friends and family could listen in. His future manager Scooter Brawn accidentally found one of his videos while surfing for another musician. Brawn contacted his mother and flew them from Canada to Atlanta, GA, where Usher introduced Bieber to large audiences and a recording contract with L.A. Reid [8]. The music video to his song Baby, featured on his first album, had over eight million views on YouTube within the first weeks of being released, and has 359,701,918 views, for example, on March 24, 2014 at 4:53pm.

Becoming Internet famous is not all about luck. After studying the stories of celebrities the key to becoming famous relates to how you exert yourself on the Internet. Show your personality through your websites, engage your followers, be passionate, make your fans care, understand that it is a process, and lastly know when to call it quits [9]. This process may not be the best way, but exemplifies the most practical approach. Unknown wannabes must understand that followers might fall in love with how you look, but will only stay if you stay willing to show your true personality. Fakes will be exploited in an instant. With the billions of humans on Earth, boundless groups will freely listen. A small group could be the start of your career. Those who do follow you will feel a connection if you’re willing to engage with them. The slightest acknowledgement, for instance a favorite on Twitter, could make the support of a follower significantly stronger. Connecting and sharing with your followers proves how passionate you are about your voice. If you love something enough, you can prove that it is worth admiring. Your passion alone could influence your fans. Also sharing your thoughts could encourage followers to becoming invested in your talents, asking for advice or passing on your links. Adding these contributions has the ability to “quickly turn casual followers into fans” [10]. The entire process will not be completed overnight so you have to be patient. With this, if you have been following the process for a long time, it may be time to take a break. The limelight is not for everyone. Never feel discouraged. If your beliefs are strong enough there is still a possibility for you to share your talents with the world.

Developing his career from scratch and by using the internet Mac Miller became a well-known American musician. Mac Miller posted free demos of his songs on blogs and released seven free downloadable mix tapes on the Internet. This created a small fan base that started spreading until it became familiar to hundreds of followers. These fans were a great starting point for his upcoming fame, and established a strong fan base on Twitter. Mac Miller encouraged his fans to follow him on Twitter, continuing to provide free downloads, and responding to questions or comments that they asked him. He also tweeted acting like a celebrity in order to provide a little enthusiasm for his followers. This technique brought him to success with his growing two million followers and the “first independently released album to chart at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 since 1995” [11].

After searching through the stories of celebrities who gained success over the Internet on social networks, I wonder what sites are next to present us with new musicians. Several social networks that could present great promise in the upcoming social media craze are suggested to be Medium, Impossible, Mobli, Nextdoor, Shots of Me, and Sportslobster [12]. Regarding the music industry there seems to be a growing admiration for Medium which is a “long form blogging platform" [13] that shows up as ads on larger sites, such as Twitter. This may not seem like your typical music advertisement but it recently became open to the public, waiting for someone to take the first move. From personal experience, Vine seems to be the most common vogue for singers trying to get their voices into the world. Countless revines spreads the talents of singers along feeds all over the world. A country singer, Parker Barton, and vocalist Erin Donahue recently caught my attention on Vine. Maybe one day we will see them on Billboards Top 100 or on a magazine cover due to their spreading success.

The music industry relays the wish for new style, new talents, new anything. With that in perspective, it is hard to turn your back on the most popular sites that attract dedicated artist to release their talents to the world. With how accessible the Internet is nowadays, the music industry will grow and succeed quicker. All over the globe, aspiring artists use their connections on the web to broadcast their talents. The stories of Justin Bieber, Mac Miller, and Lily Allen provide inspiration for those who devote all of their time trying to gain supporters of their music careers. The media offers opportunity for millions of hopeful musicians (and managers) in creating the next sensation of the music industry. With "more than 23% of marketers [are] investing in blogging and social media" [14] the opportunities continue to present themselves to the public as we continue our search for the next music icon.

Footnotes

[1] "The Brief History of Social Media."
[2] Ibid
[3] "The Beatles Biography."
[4] “Louis Armstrong”
[5] "Louis Armstrong."
[6] “Lily Allen” Pitchfork
[7] Ibid.
[8] "Justin Bieber's Rise to Fame: How the Teen Heartthrob Went From YouTube Star to International Success (VIDEO)."
[9] "Internet Famous: Becoming an Online Celebrity."
[10] Ibid
[11] "Mac Miller Raps up Internet Following, Fame."
[12] "6 Social Networks to Watch in 2014."
[13] Ibid
[14] 45 Amazing Social Media Facts, Figures, and Statistics

Works Cited

1.     "6 Social Networks to Watch in 2014." RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. http://socialmediatoday.com/sashattuck/1949426/6-social-networks-watch-2014

2.     "The Beatles Biography." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1397313/bio

3.     "The Brief History of Social Media." The Brief History of Social Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. http://www2.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/NewMedia/SocialMedia/SocialMediaHistory.html

4.     "Internet Famous: Becoming an Online Celebrity." Webdesigner Depot RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/11/internet-famous-becoming-an-online-celebrity/

5.     "Justin Bieber's Rise to Fame: How the Teen Heartthrob Went From YouTube Star to International Success (VIDEO)." Celebuzz. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. http://www.celebuzz.com/2012-12-21/justin-biebers-rise-to-fame-how-the-teen-heartthrob-went-from-youtube-star-to-international-success-video/

6.     "Louis Armstrong." Louis Armstrong. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.

http://www.redhotjazz.com/louie.html

7.     "Mac Miller Raps up Internet Following, Fame." The Lantern. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.

http://thelantern.com/2012/04/mac-miller-raps-up-internet-following-fame/

8.     “Louis Armstrong” PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/louis-armstrong/about-louis-armstrong/528/

9.     "Lily Allen." Pitchfork. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/6476-lily-allen/