Though he follows the basic formula, Watsky deviates from the norm both as a YouTube performer and a musician: his videos run without ads, his music is available for free download, and he shies away from lucrative endorsements for the sake of integrity. Yet his continued success as a musician presents an alternative, engagement-based model for Internet artistry.
A Generic YouTube Star?
Watsky does most of what one would expect from the owner of a successful YouTube channel. His content is diverse, ranging from a whimsical rap about a child raised by Tasmanian devils to spoken word poetry that is deeply critical of social norms and practices. Regardless of the subject matter, Watsky puts painstaking effort into producing his music and videos, reinvesting his profits from touring into the creative pipeline. As a result, almost every song from his most recent album is accompanied by a music video, and his channel sports over 60 uploads. To further grow his following, Watsky is also active on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. A secondary vlog-based YouTube channel offers a more intimate view into his life and philosophy, allowing ardent fans to connect with him more deeply. His main channel is now pushing 560,000 followers.
Changing the Game
Despite this success, Watsky decided to take it down. In an interview with the HPR, he explained that “the first paragraph of every article about me was about that video. … I’m not hoping to establish myself as the pale kid who raps fast because I’m much more interested in content that actually means something to people.” For Watsky, maintaining a balanced artistic profile was far more important than raking in views on a viral hit. The decision makes sense in the context of Watsky’s larger strategy; his performances extend beyond YouTube, into music tours, poetry performances, and other appearances. When one aspect of his art threatened to overshadow the others, he made a necessary adjustment to preserve his broader image.
Even the core of his business, music sales, is atypical. Most of Watsky’s projects are available as name-your-price downloads on Bandcamp, a web music store that allows artists to sell and promote their music independently. The name-your-price scheme allows listeners to obtain music without paying a cent, which may be useful for growing a fan base, but could be financially unsustainable over the long term.
This pricing strategy is a result of the burgeoning amount of art available online. When confronted with such a huge diversity of material, the casual consumer may simply lack the means or interest to pay for new content, especially when other music can be found free just a few clicks away. Watsky himself acknowledges that now, “people need to hear what they’re getting into before they know that they want to support it.” Freely distributing his music cuts down a major barrier separating him from potential fans, giving them the same try-before-you-buy experience they may find in other markets. Likewise, Watsky’s decision to keep his videos advertisement-free gives him a direct link to viewers, allowing them to move from song to song without his message being diluted.
Making the Watsky Model Profitable
So where does Watsky earn his money? His 2013 release of the album Cardboard Castles was an unprecedented success, peaking at #10 on the iTunes store. Surprisingly, even his music on Bandcamp turns a profit, fueled by fans who are willing to open their pockets to support an artist they believe in. Referring to two of his free mix tapes, Watsky explains, “Every time I put out a project people voluntarily give me more money. I think I made three times as much on Nothing Like the First Time as I did on New Kind Of Sexy, a year later, even though they were both downloaded the same amount of times.” The honesty and integrity behind Watsky’s work reach his listeners, allowing the long-term dedication to his art to offset short-term sacrifices on ad revenue and music sales.
An Evolving Platform
Watsky’s model is not easy to replicate, but thanks to the dynamic nature of the Internet, emerging artists don’t have to. For its part, YouTube is working hard to cultivate new and exciting content. The advice provided in the YouTube Playbook is just the start; Google has already remodeled an aircraft hangar in Los Angeles, transforming it into a massive video production studio called the YouTube Space. The Space makes filming equipment and locations available to content creators who demonstrate significant viewership on their channels, and holds workshops open to the general public. Since the creation of this Space, YouTube has constructed two more, one in London and the other in Tokyo. That YouTube is investing so heavily in open infrastructure suggests that the company sees tremendous potential in putting professional tools in the hands of promising artists.
On a smaller scale, YouTube provides uploaders with detailed analytics to help them understand their audiences. Past a certain threshold of fame, artists may be able to rely on their fans to spread their music, but until that point releasing the right kinds of content can involve tactical as well as artistic thinking. Kristina Hu ’16, owner of the YouTube channel TheUnsungHeroine, explains in an interview with the HPR that this data “gives great insight into viewership demographics, and I certainly use this information in making my cover choices.” Like Watsky, Hu also benefited from the success of a viral video, experiencing a surge in subscribers when her piano cover of Skrillex’s “Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites” made the front page of the popular website Reddit. This growth in popularity changed the way Hu approached her channel. As demand for her music grew, Hu began selling recordings on iTunes, replicating the Watsky model in part: ad-free videos for viewers to enjoy and music sales elsewhere for fans to support.
The growing infrastructure and ever-present possibility of going viral have created opportunities previously unheard of. YouTube has evolved from a simple video-sharing website into a powerful platform for emerging performers to spread their work. The medium is at its most powerful when used as Watsky does: as one part of a multi-pronged strategy for spreading a message. Achieving celebrity through YouTube is still far from a guarantee, but in that sense, it is no different from traditional roads to stardom, or even sustainability. But where best-practice norms are slowly emerging for attaining that goal, George Watsky illuminates a less-traveled path, one from which hopeful artists can learn.