Ever feel like there are just so many bands out there making music nowadays? You’re not wrong. In today’s Digital Age there are more groups than ever writing and recording music (which is a GOOD thing). But it does make it increasingly difficult for truly talented and gifted artists to differentiate themselves from the clutter of amateurs, unsigned acts, bedroom musicians and indie bands all vying to be heard and discovered. One proven method to stand out from the crowd and create some buzz is, of course, the ancient art of the viral video. Perhaps the best known case of a band jumpstarting their career via a video short is the example of OK Go, whose video for “Here It Goes Again” features the band performing a delightful dance routine on treadmills (sound familiar? The video has been viewed upwards of 60million times, and you are probably responsible for at least 3 of those).
So you wanna make a viral video? Well, turns out it’s not so easy to dream up and produce an original, creative and endearing video idea with little to no budget that will garner millions of YouTube views and skyrocket your career into the stratosphere overnight. But it’s not impossible… enter (previously) unknown Burlington, Ontario rockers Walk Off The Earth whose unique performance of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know” has achieved 4.5million views in the first four days of its existence. For God’s sake, the band doesn’t even have a fully built website yet: “Welcome to the official website of Walk off the Earth. We are currently busting our ass’s to get this site finished.” This stuff really does happen overnight, and spreads so quickly that even the band itself is caught off guard. Here’s a great quote from WOTE’s Facebook page that just about sums up what I was trying to say earlier about today’s music industry:
“To all the independent musicians out there. I hope this shows that you can make a name for your band with no help from record labels and management and next to no money. Stay true to your dreams and your passions, whether they be music related or not. Don’t wait for people to help you because they never will. The only time the music industry will want to help you is when you have done all the work yourself! “
Congrats to Walk Off The Earth for being awesome. And for making a freaking cool video that people dig while effectively displaying their talent to the world at the same time. Without further ado:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9NF2edxy-M&w=560&h=315]
Gabriel Marowitz – Associate Music Supervisor
PlayNetwork
