Where Have You Gone, Kurt Loder?

When you think about the importance of YouTube to the music industry, the one thing you can’t say is that nobody saw it coming… well, at least they anticipated the majority of it.

That being said, a couple of interesting reports and articles have been circulating over the past couple of weeks related to the impact YouTube and Social media are having on an industry that historically has been controlled by the major record labels.

A recent survey by Nielsen found that nearly two thirds of 3,000 teenagers polled identified YouTube as their favorite source for listening to music over both the radio and CDs.  This has led to an entirely new way of music discovery that is much more personal, and devoid of Tabitha Soren and the programming rotations that forced MC Hammer down my throat for the better parts of 7th and 8th grade.

A great example of this discovery comes in the form of Carly Rae Jepson.  The New York Times had a killer article that provides some great perspective of how YouTube and Twitter impacted the growth and popularity of ‘Call Me Maybe’ to the point of 262,000,000 views over the course of 6 months.

As if that weren’t enough, the phenomenon spawned another 200+ million views through knock-offs by Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, the US Olympic Swim Team – as well as a dusting off of Tay Zonday.

And while Carly Rae Jepson’s time in the sun is starting to become her time in the dusk, the behaviors that brought her to the forefront are just now being recognized for their power.  I’m a little nervous about what next summer may bring…