Downbeat is a Mockumentary series that premiered on CollegeHumor in 2019. It was a collaboration with Adaptive Studios. The series focuses on six unique musicians as they struggle to find success, each of which stars in their own episode:
- Ad Lib: A rapper, specializing in throwing in "yeah"s and whatnot during other people's raps, plans to make music that consists solely of his ad-libs.
- Wiggle Parade: An acoustic guitarist tries to become famous for music with a strong political message, but all of her work sounds like children's songs.
- Side Project: A man is incredibly dedicated to his band, which turns out to be the side gig of all its other members.
- Radio.You: A man creates a service that attempts to make personalized music for its listeners out of some templates and information from surveys.
- Heart Nouveau: Maya, a punk rocker, plans to reunite with her old partner Charles, who is now living a more mundane life and specializing in elevator music.
- Cruise Ship Queen: A woman has a career as a singer in a cruise ship's lounge, but with so few attendees, worries that she's made the wrong career move.
A playlist for the entire series can be found here
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Tropes
- Capitalism Is Bad: The belief of the focus of "Wiggle Parade", who turns down a recording contract because her message is more important...though she does seem to briefly regret it.
- Former Teen Rebel: In "Heart Nouveau", Charles used to be just as rebellious and crazy as Maya was (and still is), but is currently mild-mannered.
- I Am the Band: The main character of "Side Project" thinks he's this, seemingly unaware that all the other members are more successful and think of his group as just a hobby.
- Locked Out of the Loop: The other members of the band in "Side Project" don't want the lead singer to find out his 'serious passion project' is nothing but a fun little hobby for them, or that they're all part of a number of much more successful bands (even working with each other in a few of those bands), because he pays them a hundred dollars just to show up for practice and two hundred to play for an audience.
- My God, You Are Serious!: The expecting father talking to the musician in "Wiggle Parade" has this reaction when he realizes she doesn't think her songs are for children.
- Not So Above It All: In the final moments of "Heart Nouveau", after failing to reconnect with her old partner Charles, Maya receives a call from him and they enthusiastically sing one of their old songs together.
- Putting the Band Back Together: This was at least part of the reason why Maya reaches out to Charles in "Heart Nouveau", but it quickly turns out that Charles isn't interested.
- The Quincy Punk: Maya, the star of "Heart Nouveau", is one.
- Solo Side Project: Inverted in "Side Project", as most of the band have their own successful solo careers (as well as their own band which doesn't include the other band's lead singer).
- Target Audience: The focus of "Wiggle Parade" is a musician who presumes that her target is adults with children being a periphery demographic, who doesn't seem to realize that it's the other way around.
- What Do You Mean, It's Not for Kids?: Inverted In-Universe. The artist in "Wiggle Parade" can't seem to understand that none of her songs sound even the slightest bit like they were made for adults, and everything she makes sounds like it was made for, and is enjoyed only by, children.
