124
AdAptAtion in the Age of MediA ConvergenCe
YouTube cover song videos of “No Diggity” and “Titanium” as
para-adaptations
For a closer examination of YouTube cover song videos as para-adaptations,
I will discuss music videos created by amateur or unknown musicians
covering the songs “No Diggity” by the American R&B group Blackstreet
featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen and “Titanium” by French DJ and music
producer David Guetta, featuring vocals by Australian recording artist Sia,
who is also one of the writers of the song. The search “No Diggity cover” on
YouTube returns about 1,920,000 results and the search “Titanium cover”
returns about 3,920,000 results (29/04/2018). A capella versions of both songs
were featured in the film Pitch Perfect, 40 and this may have contributed
to the popular selection of these songs as cover material for the creation of
YouTube cover videos by young musicians. In addition, most of the covers
are inspired by acoustic versions or ballad versions of the songs performed
by recording artists, e.g. “No Diggity” mashed up with “Thrift Shop” by Ed
Sheeran and The Passenger or Chet Faker’s commercially recorded cover
of “No Diggity” or Sia’s ballad version of “Titanium.”
The key type of YouTube cover video discussed in this section is described
by Burgess as the “virtuosic bedroom musical performance.” 41 This mainly
refers to the unedited and low image quality type of video that the user
JonDittertMusic playfully comments on in his “making of cover songs”
video. According to Burgess, “the everydayness of the genre is all the more
evident because of its situatedness in the bedroom.” 42 Burgess adds that
“the bedroom music genre demonstrates how relatively simple uses of video
technology (recording straight to camera and uploading without much editing) and highly constrained genres (the musical cover), while not necessarily
contributing to the aesthetic advancement of the medium, can invite further
participation by establishing clear rules” 43 for other YouTube users who may
want to start covering or advance to the next level of making cover videos.
These “rules” are formulated through what Burgess describes as operations
of play and learning that also involve the showcasing of talent and in effect
the “setting of standards for other players in the game to attain or beat.” 44
“Making of” videos such as the one created by JonDittertMusic in the form
40 Moore, Pitch Perfect.
41 Burgess, “All your Chocolate Rain are Belong to Us?”
42 Ibid., 7.
43 Ibid.
44 Ibid.
AdAptAtion in the Age of MediA ConvergenCe
YouTube cover song videos of “No Diggity” and “Titanium” as
para-adaptations
For a closer examination of YouTube cover song videos as para-adaptations,
I will discuss music videos created by amateur or unknown musicians
covering the songs “No Diggity” by the American R&B group Blackstreet
featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen and “Titanium” by French DJ and music
producer David Guetta, featuring vocals by Australian recording artist Sia,
who is also one of the writers of the song. The search “No Diggity cover” on
YouTube returns about 1,920,000 results and the search “Titanium cover”
returns about 3,920,000 results (29/04/2018). A capella versions of both songs
were featured in the film Pitch Perfect, 40 and this may have contributed
to the popular selection of these songs as cover material for the creation of
YouTube cover videos by young musicians. In addition, most of the covers
are inspired by acoustic versions or ballad versions of the songs performed
by recording artists, e.g. “No Diggity” mashed up with “Thrift Shop” by Ed
Sheeran and The Passenger or Chet Faker’s commercially recorded cover
of “No Diggity” or Sia’s ballad version of “Titanium.”
The key type of YouTube cover video discussed in this section is described
by Burgess as the “virtuosic bedroom musical performance.” 41 This mainly
refers to the unedited and low image quality type of video that the user
JonDittertMusic playfully comments on in his “making of cover songs”
video. According to Burgess, “the everydayness of the genre is all the more
evident because of its situatedness in the bedroom.” 42 Burgess adds that
“the bedroom music genre demonstrates how relatively simple uses of video
technology (recording straight to camera and uploading without much editing) and highly constrained genres (the musical cover), while not necessarily
contributing to the aesthetic advancement of the medium, can invite further
participation by establishing clear rules” 43 for other YouTube users who may
want to start covering or advance to the next level of making cover videos.
These “rules” are formulated through what Burgess describes as operations
of play and learning that also involve the showcasing of talent and in effect
the “setting of standards for other players in the game to attain or beat.” 44
“Making of” videos such as the one created by JonDittertMusic in the form
40 Moore, Pitch Perfect.
41 Burgess, “All your Chocolate Rain are Belong to Us?”
42 Ibid., 7.
43 Ibid.
44 Ibid.