YouNow, the live broadcasting site that’s generating its own genre of stars like YouTube and Vine, now has its first anthem, thanks to YouNow celebrity Emma McGann.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar7zvZD9qms
The British performer began broadcasting in the platform after trying other forms of social media to get her music out there. She’s active for her 37,500 fans—primarily in the #Singing channel, where she plays covers and original music, and the #Girls channel, where she shows aspects of her daily life. The 25-year-old has found freedom and fans in live broadcasting her life on YouNow, enough that she can make a living from her work on the site.
“Since I became a partner in February, I’ve been able to make a solid living off it,” she said. “It really surprised me. I can’t believe I can pay the bills just by broadcasting.”
The song and video for “Me & YouNow” pays direct homage to McGann’s fans on the platform, showing the chat function as McGann sings about her crowd being “part of the team” and “always showing love.” The video is sprinkled with YouNow in jokes like llama and heart stickers that are ubiquitous on the site.
“The idea for the song actually came from my audience,” said McGann. “They were like, ‘you should write a song about us!’ I think I wrote it in January, and since then I’ve just performed it on acoustic guitar.”
McGann shot in her home studio, where she recorded the song, and said she wanted to shoot all the scenes in locations where people would recognize from her broadcasts.
“While I was making the video, I thought, ‘I could tie in YouNow in some way, and make it relevant not just for me as a broadcaster, but other broadcasters,’” she explained. “[I could] tell the story of the broadcasters connecting with their fans.”
For McGann that kind of connection means adjusting to sharing so much of her life with the audience behind the camera, from time with her boyfriend to cameos by her dog. While some of her extended family avoids her cameras or acts like it’s “Big Brother,” McGann said for her it’s becoming second nature.
“It just becomes your comfort zone,” McGann said. “It’s really weird.”
Screengrab via Emma McGann/YouTube