Viral Music Career
Has anyone launched a career on the web with a viral music video? With the soaring popularity of viral video sites, many artists are turning to the internet to market their music. Viral videos and TV shows such as American Idol have replaced traditional means of being discovered by a recording label. Artists who have begun their careers with a viral music video are a small but quickly growing number.
Marie Digby posted her acoustic rendition of the cover "Umbrella" on YouTube in 2007. The song quickly became very popular and was played on radio stations and performed on TV shows. She has since published three studio albums: Unfold (2008), which reached #29 on Billboard; Second Home (2009); and Breathing Underwater (2009), which was #183 on Billboard. She has also released numerous singles including: Umbrella, Bring Me Love; Say It Again; Stupid For You; Avalanche; and Feel.
Savannah Outen also began posting music videos of herself on YouTube in 2007. She signed a recording contract just a few months later. Her singles include: Goodbyes; Adios; If You Only Knew; Hope and Prayer; Shop; He's Just So; What If I Said; So What; Fighting for My Life; and O Holy Night. Her soundtracks include: Goodbyes on Radio Disney Jams, Vol. 11; A Greater Treasure Than a Friend on Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure; and Little Wonders on DisneyMania 7. Her music videos include Goodbyes (2008) and If You Only Knew (2009)
Mia Rose, a Portugese/English singer began posting YouTube videos of herself singing in 2006 and gained a record number of subscribers to her site. She is very popular in Europe and maintains a huge internet following. Her videos have been watched over 100 million times on YouTube. She has three self-released singles: Let Go, What Would Christmas Be Like, and Falling for You.
Dutch singer and songwriter Esmee Denters also began posting singing videos on YouTube. In 2008, she was the first artist signed by Justin Timberlake to his record label. She released her first album Outta Here in 2009.
Some controversy exists over whether or not some of these singers were truly amateurs when they first posted their videos, but amateurs or not, the fact remains that viral music videos are the reason for their instant celebrity status. Viral music videos can be a powerful tool for discovering or marketing a new musical talent and launching a career in the music industry.
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