Are you devastated that you missed the MTV Music Awards? Have no fear— on November 3 a re-run will be aired. It’s called the Youtube Music Awards.
Expect the usual rogues gallery of nominees for Artist of the Year category: Bieber, PSY, Katy Perry, One Direction etc. competing in a contest where the stakes are lower then an episode of "Who’s Line is it Anyway". The musical acts are tediously predictable and I’m not the only critic: Tyler, the Creator (ironically a performer) directed his October 13 tweet wrath at the awards, calling the nominees “Teeny Bopper Pop Shit” and told the good people at YouTube: “You are Butt”.
But, are they really “butt”? Yes. Yes they are.
Take the award for Video of the Year. Instead of the artistic team or directors winning recognition, the mega-pop-artists themselves are awarded. For a website that exists to empower videographers, the choice of recipient feels not only vapid, but like a betrayal.
The fact that this awards show is not rewarding talent is obvious in the voting process: users vote by sharing the artist’s video across their social media outlets. Imagine high school’s worst popularity contest, multiplied by the globe.
In a brief flicker of redemption, YouTube has novel categories that honor the fans interacting with and responding to videos. Categories like Response of the Year and YouTube Phenomenon actually plays to YouTube’s strengths. “Innovation of the Year” highlights “indie”-ready artists like Toro y Moi, yet comes of as a paltry attempt to project credibility.
The Youtube Awards are the equivalent of my coach at summer basketball camp who gave me “Best Attendance” award—it means nothing. The world doesn’t need another award show that exists merely to bestow unduly amounts of praise onto celebrities. There was a massive missed opportunity here to experiment with an awards show that honors artists in a meaningful way. What we have left is a YouTube Awards no better the dozens on the Boob Tube.
