By Shanece Brent, Staff Writer

Published in print Oct. 1, 2014

Ranked as one of the top three sites used in America, YouTube is a hard-driven part of American culture. In fact, it can be argued that YouTube is pop culture.

Viral videos plague American media, with television shows based on the clips. We even get news from YouTube. YouTube has even crossed into the realm of old media, showing commercials for their popular tubers on networks.

Back when the “Harlem Shake” was popular, I’d sit in front of my laptop searching through the glut of Shake videos for the most innovative, crazy skits. But it wasn’t just the insane antics of people across the country that had me hooked. The song that accompanied this extraordinary fad was infectious. Baauer’s song “Harlem Shake” would go on to be a Billboard number one hit, and the motorcycle helmet wearing dancers would become an inevitable part of our pop culture.

But one thing that has been affected most by this innovation in video sharing has been the music industry. When it comes to music videos, YouTube is still a giant. It has changed the music industry in ways no other website has done before.

It’s also a godsend for independent artists, allowing individuals with talent to suddenly be known on a global scale with the click of a button, as evidenced by average teens turned stars like Greyson Chance and of course Justin Bieber, who is the poster child for internet phenomenon-turned global star. Korean musician Psy, with his 400+ billion view-hit, “Gangnam Style”, also used YouTube as a one-way ticket to fame, becoming an international super star overnight.

Radio play is no longer the only route to a successful music career. In an acknowledgment of this fact, the billboard music ranking system has begun to take YouTube hits into consideration when they rank their music.

“The notion that a song has to sell in order to be a hit feels a little two or three years ago to me,” said Billboard magazine’s editorial director Bill Werde. “The music business today—much to its credit—has started to learn that there are lots of different ways a song can be a hit, and lots of different ways that the business can benefit from it being a hit.” 

YouTube has also taken on another staple of American pop culture: Music award shows, which have been a staple of our culture since the 1980s. The first YouTube music awards show was held on November 3rd of 2013.

The award show was shoddily put together and unscripted, in an attempt to mimic the feel of creating a music video, but in this venture, the creators failed to create a cohesive and streamlined event.

Still, the fact that YouTube has put their oar in the water shows something of the ambition of the site’s head honchos. YouTube has been a medium where unknowns and mega stars alike can come together and shine on the same cyber stage.