A month ago, some of you may remember I suggested that rather get up in arms over ‘pirated content’ appearing on YouTube, the owners of the copyright should consider it free advertising and just get over it!
Lo and behold, a few major companies, including CBS, Lionsgate and Universal Music are doing just that – and even going a step farther. They have started selling advertising against the material – which the posters will have no stake in, profits to be split between the media giants and YouTube.
A video games publisher, Electronic Arts, has even gone so far as to encourage user submissions, as players generate their own characters in a popular new game and show them off on YouTube, increasing interest in the game and hopefully boosting sales.
How is this all tracked? YouTube had initiated Video ID last fall, and it is proving to be the perfect tool for content owners to track copyrighted material and claim it for their own.
YouTube is excited by the response, and reports that 90% of copyrighted content found is now staying on YouTube, with advertising added. After years of struggling to monetize the site, the avenue may have finally opened to getting some major players through the door.
I am particularly happy about the news, simply because it’s fun being right; I could understand large media outlets being concerned about infringement issues if there was any direct damage being done in the form of lost revenue, but most video clip posters are simply sharing a funny bit, and actually creating interest in the industry rather than profiting from it.
A quote from Curt Marvis, digital media president at Lionsgate hit right to the heart of the matter.
“We don’t want to condone people taking our intellectual property and using it without our permission,” he said. “But we also don’t like the idea of keeping fans of our products from being able to engage with our content. For the most part, people who are uploading videos are fans of our movies. They’re not trying to be evil pirates, and they’re not trying to get revenue from it.”
Viacom, which launched a staggering $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube over copyright infringement isn’t appeased, claiming that while the new policy of monetizing is a good idea, it doesn’t make up for the damages they allegedly suffered in the past. They await another hearing next month.
Tags: advertising, copyright, YouTube