It's really refreshing to see something reach this kind of blockbuster status and not be from America, or Western Europe.<p>Not because I'm anti-American, but because this is the kind of experience non-Westerners must get everytime a Lady GaGa/Baywatch/Hollywood Movie dominates their cultural airwaves...whether or not they actually like it, they only still have a vague understanding of what the thing means, and its origins and backstory. It's nice being on the outside looking in...which is something you'd expect to happen more often given the demographic of the world.
Do you guys have any favourite spin offs of Gagnam Style ?<p>The structure is always the same like taking some memorable
moments of the video eg at the start the plane or the guy shaking his pelvis in the lift , then take some other stereotype or celebrities in it. So I actually wonder how many more views came from the parodies.<p>Last similar wave I remember was the "shit says " series maybe 6 months ago that had a similar formula.<p>here some examples:<p>Mitt Romney style<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTs_TKk5S2M" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTs_TKk5S2M</a>
<a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6830834/mitt-romney-style-gangnam-style-parody" rel="nofollow">http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6830834/mitt-romney-style-...</a><p>Eastern Europe Style
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY1MVQeeStY&list=UUFjCy-DI6cFNlNqMnihpDpg&index=1&feature=plcp" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY1MVQeeStY&list=UUFjCy-D...</a><p>Eton Style
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaJl_qOVcf0" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaJl_qOVcf0</a>
My 66yo father, who once asked incredulously, "who is this 'Lady Goo Goo'?" recently told me how he got the airline to bump him to 1st class for free. He then wryly remarked "Oppa Gangnam style".<p>That, right there, is what I call global penetration.
Except here in Germany, where the local fuckwads at the GEMA [1] made Youtube block the video because "they hadn't granted the necessary rights". For a fucking copyright-waived video. Argh.<p>And people actually wonder why more and more (German) people have absolutely no qualms about piracy. I'm actually not sure whether or not I should thank the GEMA for that.<p>[1]: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gesellschaft_f%C3%BCr_musikalische_Auff%C3%BChrungs-_und_mechanische_Vervielf%C3%A4ltigungsrechte" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gesellschaft_f%C3%BCr_musikali...</a>
Funny how proportions are lost. They're assuming the billion views yet they're still 200 million views away. There was a time not so long ago, when Avril Lavigne and the Evolution of Dance battled themselves out fiercely to reach 200 million views. Clickbots, fanclubs and all.
What does 1Bn views equate to in real money if you have the normal amount of youtube advertising? I know this may vary depending on the audience but I'd love a ballpark if someone has any idea. I was under the impression 1m views = ~$3300 but I could be mistaken.
The "World's Most Watched Video" may be an exaggeration -- am I to believe that Gangnam Style has been watched more times than the Zapruder film or the moon landing footage?
I still wonder why "Yatta, Yatta!" from Happatai did not become equally famous :)<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=happatai+-+yatta&gs_l=youtube" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=happatai+-+yatta...</a>
If you haven't seen it :) Gangnam Style:<p>with a bear
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B1J73Ag3hU" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B1J73Ag3hU</a><p>Nelly Furtado
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehs-vZ1uF-k" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehs-vZ1uF-k</a><p>Metal/rock cover
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czJAGGoaYtw" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czJAGGoaYtw</a>
It reached 1 Billion views without any support from the 4th largest market for music[1].<p>Germany has a market share of 7–8% for albums and 9–12% for singles. In 2005 market value was 887.7 million USD. And yet no one in Germany has ever watched Gangnam Style on Youtube.<p>[1] <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_industry" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_industry</a>
All this and it's not counting places like China which has it's own youtube like service. And my understanding is that countries like Germany, with overly aggressive IP laws blocks the music from the video so it doesn't get nearly as many views. (it'd be great if somebody could confirm)