Don't you feel sorry for poor old YouTube? Now that they are officially on the culture vulture radar after a sensational deal with Google for US$1.65billion in stock the company is no longer alternative. They are also now a big fat target for lawsuits, and have been deluged by requests from content owners for their material to be removed from the site, or at least start sharing the pie. The process, the execs have discovered, is painful and goes a long way to explain why Internet mavericks like themselves have a bit of lead time to get a new model in place. The cost of clearing rights is cost-prohibitive. The cost of doing business as YouTube remains to be seen. With one source claiming up to 60% of the top 100 clips on YouTube have some form of copyright violation, it will be interesting to see what happens next. Rest assured, those heart-to-heart video blogs NOT sponsored by a media company will continue to flourish no doubt. Re-mixers may need more support.
YouTube Finds Signing Rights Deals Complex, Frustrating - WSJ.com
Posted by .M. at November 4, 2006 12:56 PM | TrackBack