Prosumers on YouTube

Overview

Prosumers take many forms on YouTube. In the context of music, there are parodies, songs based on pop culture, and naturally, multitudes of remixes. Many of the viral crazes on youtube have been music –based as well.

ParodiesParody songs are everywhere on YouTube. Enterprising creators take a song, and reword the lyrics to either address an entirely different theme, or else to mock the original and/or it’s creator.

Pop culture

Another big hit on YouTube has been songs based of pop culture, most often internet pop culture. This can cover a wide range of topics, such as video games, television shows, web-original content, and more.

Memes and viral videos

The full list of musical viral videos is by this point far too long to list. Here is a shortlist of the most memorable.• Numa Numa• Nyan Cat• Caramelldansen• Gangnam Style• Never gonna give you up (AKA Rickrolling)• Harlem shake• What does the fox say?

Remixes

Remixes of popular songs are also common on YouTube. They can be based of of anything, including parody songs.

YouTube allows for the easy development of prosumers in the music industry. The free uploading and sharing means that they can easily distribute their work, and get attention, without the influence of a major record label. This can translate into a career, as many prosumers will be selling their songs on sites like Itunes, linking to these webpages in the descriptions of the YouTube video.