YouTube, Copyright & Ads: Big Media Waking Up?

by Nalts on August 16, 2008

Hi! I’m Kevin Nalts and I’ve actually swam in diarrhea for fun! In fact, I do it often…

Nah, I’m not actually Nalts; I’m some idiot he trusted to write a guest piece for his blog. Big mistake to trust Peter Coffin. So anyway, here’s something rather important:

If you’ve been keeping up with the business of online video, you know that companies have realized what you and I have for a long time: this stuff is for real. Social media, YouTube, streaming, all the freshly-aged buzzwords – it’s starting to generate some real revenue. It’s in part because of people like you and me putting up homegrown content and spending time generating fanbases (which is still odd for most of us to even say), but as much as I would like to take all the credit for the community made up of us forward-thinking independents, I have to believe the reason YouTube worked over all the other startups that have provided far more incentive to the little guy is because you can watch clips of Family Guy on it.

Clips that Fox did not upload. Or NBC. Or Viacom. Or anyone else who makes stuff that you see on the outdated 4:3 box taking up space in your parent’s house’s living room (you have a 16:9 HD flatscreen at your place… it’s on the wall… looks kind of like a painting and stuff).

So, naturally, the copyright holders in their conventional wisdom (particularly the big V) went the hell after Google/YouTube, the site that renewed the dying interest in SNL when Lazy Sunday went crazy viral.

But you know all that.

What you don’t know is that someone – some kind of consulting firm or possibly YT reps – is getting through to these people on what YT makes possible. Yeah, you can attempt to have your own branded video site. Yeah, you can spend tons of money trying to promote it. But when it comes down to it: that is like making a TV that only plays your stuff or a sandwich shop that only makes tuna. No one is going to buy that. They want everything and they will get it.

And in an example everyone should follow: a few companies are getting it. Universal Music, CBS, Lionsgate, and EA Games are now allowing people to upload their copyrighted content to YouTube. Why? Because Google is putting ads on them ala the Parter Program and sharing the revenue with these companies.

Someone finally convinced them what everyone should know: if someone sees your content, that’s a damn good thing. That is why you make the content. And instead of revealing private information on the people that watch/spread/upload clips, JUST PUT ADS ON IT AS IF X COMPANY UPLOADED IT THEMSELVES AND WATCH THE MONEY ROLL IN! Wowie, it’s so simple!

So if you are expecting to die when the Viabomb (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgEWwz0JZh8) hits, don’t worry. Companies are realizing it’s possible to have content out there that they don’t even have to work to promote (as someone else will do it for them) and make money off it. Now the legal future of YT can start to make more sense and advertisers can continue gaining confidence in the product. And small-timers like myself continue to suckle on the teat of famous related videos. Ah, related videos… you are my savior!

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