Becoming a star!

Are you ready for your close-up? Or maybe framing one is your thing. It doesn’t matter, because YouTube gives you a platform right up there with radio, film, and television as yet another means of achieving stardom. By doing so, YouTube has created a dedicated community that offers one more way for  the  world  to notice you.

The thought of stardom often leans toward actors and musicians — and the cre- ators behind them. Many have found great success after being discovered on You- Tube. (Can you say “Shawn Mendes”?) The rock band Journey found its current lead singer on YouTube. Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry also found a singer for his other band, The Joe Perry Project.

Actors have also found work by showcasing their clip reels, performances, and auditions. YouTube has made many stars of its own — personalities offering everything from rap parodies to lip-syncing to video game analysis and commen- tary have made a name for themselves on YouTube. MrBeast, to take one example, has been watched by hundreds of millions of viewers. (See Figure 1-3.)

So, proof positive that YouTube can provide a stage big enough to start, and perhaps sustain, a career.

FIGURE 1-3:

One of MrBeast’s more popular

videos.