The Surprisingly Savvy Weird Al Internet Machine

When he talks about his business being threatened by YouTube parody video-makers, he’s talking about the fact that the public’s yen for parodies is being met by amateurs. Earlier this week, a young woman turned an infamous recording of a Comcast customer service call into a belty ballad. Between the release of that recording and its conversion into digital video fodder, fewer than 24 hours had elapsed.

This is an extreme case, but it would be staggering to ask Weird Al—who has a brand to worry about—to turn around a parody in under 24 hours. How is he even going to book a recording studio in that amount of time? Dude can’t compete.

This is what disruption looks like. —Robinson Meyer – The Atlantic.