MyMusic

MyMusic was an American web transmedia mockumentary sitcom created by the Fine Brothers that premiered on April 15, 2012 on the MyMusicShow YouTube channel. The series follows a group of co-workers that are employed under a music production company. "MyMusic" was the first transmedia sitcom on YouTube. The series was part of YouTube's Original Channel Initiative.
Premise.
"MyMusic" was the primary series that aired on the MyMusicShow YouTube channel. It documented the antics of MyMusic, a transmedia production company where, rather than referring to each other by name, the staff go by the varying music genres with which they associate. CEO and founder Indie heads the team, which consists of people following extremely different–and frequently conflicting–tastes and attitudes. The company claims to have been given the YouTube original channel, which brings along with it a documentary crew filming them day to day.
The second season picks up following the burning of the MyMusic building at the conclusion of the first season. After this fire, Indie has the MyMusic team returning to its roots, as well as focus more on social media and the MyMusic blog.
Episodes.
Each episode follows the antics of the transmedia production company. After each five or six episodes, the preceding episodes were repackaged into a traditional TV sitcom format and length. Additional scenes are also slotted into the "Sitcom Version" of the episode. The first three episodes of the second season were screened in front of a live audience at VidCon 2013 during the ""MyMusic" panel".
Series overview:
Production.
Development and filming.
In an interview with New Media Rockstars, Benny Fine stated that "MyMusic" "was developed first as a television property" and then adapted for the internet. Sometime afterward, YouTube invested money to help the brothers fund and create a premium channel, as part of YouTube's $100 million original channel project, with which the brothers decided to create "MyMusic". Benny Fine detailed that "MyMusic" was considerably influenced by British comedy series, particularly "The IT Crowd"; the Fines made the "MyMusic" writing team watch the series.
The "MyMusic" series premiered on April 15, 2012 on the MyMusicShow YouTube channel, which was registered on December 19, 2009 registration date, predating the series' conception. MyMusicShow was one of the original channels to be renewed by YouTube. The Fine Brothers announced the decision in May 2013, as Benny Fine cited the show's viewership and audience feedback as helping the series get renewed.
The Fine Brothers released daily photos, as well as "production diaries"−weekly videos of the production of the second season−which they uploaded onto Facebook and on their "TheFineBros2" channel, respectively. The second season was filmed at YouTube Space LA. Speaking about the second season, Benny Fine stated that the production budget for "MyMusic" was "nothing close to a TV size budget." The second season premiered on August 20, 2013.
Casting.
The Fine Brothers uploaded a behind-the-scenes video in February 2013, documenting the auditions of the cast. Hundreds of people came in to read for various roles. Mychal Thompson was not originally cast as the role of Hip Hop. However, for unknown reasons the original actor was unable to play the role of Hip Hop. One of the executive producers of "MyMusic" called Thompson and asked him to play the role of Hip Hop. Toby Turner was a notable recurring cast member, having portrayed Satan. Additionally, the first season saw the casting of special guests such as Vanessa Lengies, Hannah Hart, as well as Felicia Day, who earned a nomination for her guest role as Gorgol. The second season saw Lee Newton and Paul Butcher join the "MyMusic" cast.
Transmedia aspect.
"MyMusic" was often billed and promoted as "YouTube's first transmedia sitcom", and several external media were produced to align with the events of the series, helping it establish an interactive social media dynamic. The series blurred the lines of its fiction and reality, as its characters interacted with viewers, responding to their comments and voicemails in real time. Accounts were created for all the characters, including non-main character, across various social media platforms, such as Twitter. As the character's real names were not emphasized in the series, some of these social media accounts, such as Metal's Yelp! and Scene's LinkedIn accounts served as easter eggs for the series' audience. By the end of the series' first season, these fictional accounts accumulated over 250,000 followers.
The second season was planned to be more interactive than the first, with creator Benny Fine stating, "This season we're taking the interactivity up a notch and creating more opportunities for fans to integrate with the "MyMusic" story universe." One manner in which this was accomplished was through the launching of MyMusicShow.tv, a website which published satirical music news blogs written by the series' characters. Benny Fine described the spin-off news blogs as "one part BuzzFeed, one part "The Onion".
The transmedia aspect was able to influence viewers of the series to donate to an Indiegogo project aiming to fund music education.
"MyMusic" Weekly Channel Shows.
Throughout the series, characters are seen trying to complete tasks for the company, such as finishing a music news show to later release onto the Internet. These plot occurrences manifested as weekly channel shows uploaded onto the MyMusicShow YouTube channel, which developed continuity with the main series. Essentially the additional shows are the finished product of what the characters in the main series are creating, within that main series. "The Mosh", one of the aforementioned weekly shows, features the characters of the main series answering questions they receive on their social media accounts.
Reception.
Critical reception.
Emily Eifler of KQED wrote positively on the series, stating "MyMusic" is genuinely hilarious when it focuses on subtle character humor. It has a self-conscious, of-the-moment quality that will surely date quickly in the high speed evolution of online content, but that's part of its charm. "MyMusic" is deliciously hypercurrent, an emblem of the times."
Michael Andersen of "Wired" commented: 
The writing and acting rarely strays from its purposefully Vaudevillian excesses, but the characters begin to find themselves, and move beyond their names. In "MyMusic"s second season, these more nuanced characters are forced to reconcile their work life with their hopes and dreams, leading many characters to seriously consider leaving MyMusic to pursue an education, a new career, or the chance for fame and fortune.
Andersen added, ""MyMusic" was consciously designed with younger audiences in mind, loading every episode with a healthy dose of sight gags, catchphrases, and risqué punchlines."
Viewership.
The MyMusicShow YouTube channel accumulated over 100,000 subscribers prior to the release of the first episode. By December 2012, the MyMusicShow YouTube channel accumulated over 250,000 subscribers and 20 million video views. The first season generated 26–30 million video views, with individual episodes varying between 200,000 and 1 million views. The final sitcom-length episode of the series was uploaded on March 16, 2014. At the time, the MyMusicShow YouTube account had accumulated over 496,000 subscribers and 41.2 million video views. While the channel's videos continue to receive views, having received over 48.5 million, the channel peaked around just under 500,000 subscribers.
Awards and nominations.
In 2013, "MyMusic" was nominated for 10 Streamy Awards, the most of any show that year, as well as 2 IAWTV Awards.