The Story of Key of Awesome

Nov 11, 2021

01:38:15

forum

Ask episode

view_agenda

Chapters

auto_awesome

Transcript

info_circle

Episode notes

Mark Douglas’s pioneering work on Barely Political and Key of Awesome is one of YouTube’s most unique stories -- and Mark’s going through every detail with us. He’s been on a break for a few years now, and that’ll probably stop when he commits himself to being in a jam.

Mark’s passions have changed a bit over time, but now Kevin’s going to threaten harm to get Mark’s album done. What could go wrong?

Kevin realized the difference between hanging out with funny friends and actual professional comedians. Mark got started because he didn’t really have an outlet for his humor and nowhere to use his jokes. YouTube gave him that outlet, but it’s absolutely changed over the years to the point where traditional comedy might not even be necessary anymore.

When Mark moved into music, everything got a bit more complicated. Producing parodies required meeting certain standards of fair use, hiring actors and actresses ran up budgets, and even Journey slapped complaints on him. Add in having to respond to current trends and feeling trapped and it was time to relax for a while. It’s time to stop when it’s time to stop.

Mark’s singular professional life has taken several twists and turns, and we can’t thank him enough for coming into the Unknown to put it all on display. Thanks as well to everyone who showed up for the live episode -- and a special thanks to the Patrons who make this show happen each and every week. You really are the best.

Patreon: https://patreon.com/thecreateunknown

The Key of Awesome: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheKeyofAwesome/videos

Join our Discord to talk with artists, creators, and fans of the finer things in online life: https://discord.gg/qAQV3Jw

Apple: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownApple

Spotify: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownSpotify

Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TheCreateUnknownGooglePodcasts

CREDITS:

Hosts: Kevin Lieber and Matt Tabor

Produced and Edited by Ben Webster → https://twitter.com/benwebsterTCU

"Created in the Unknown" theme by Basswaite: https://linktr.ee/Basswaite

Theme by Mega Drive → http://megadrivemusic.com

Opening Animation: Kidmograph