Abstract

Cover songs are broadly viewed as adaptations within the context of relevant scholarly debates, yet little has been written about user-made YouTube cover song videos as adaptations. Scholarly work outside adaptation studies mainly describes such videos as derivative or fan-made videos. This chapter revisits the concept of para-adaptation as a first step in understanding how these videos form a multi-layered dialogue with other media forms developed within and around YouTube. User-made YouTube cover song videos do not visually emulate (unless the video falls under the category of parody) the official music video of the song covered, yet the visual settings may also be viewed as adaptations since they borrow familiar elements from other participatory or industrydriven practices. Para-adaptation is a more fitting term to describe such videos: no-budget user-generated content that creatively “disturbs” commercial source products, and may eventually achieve a status that surpasses the “ordinary” expectations of its creator(s). These videos, deliberately or due to a lack of media production competencies and/ or space availability other than a bedroom, “fail” to establish a look closer to industry standards. Rather than subtracting from their appeal, these “failures” not only enrich the culture of “ordinary” creativity, but become a source of inspiration for re-energized forms of commercial entertainment.

Key words: Cover; YouTube; adaptation; para-adaptation