Apparently I wasn't the only wondering why EMI wouldn't allow the embdedding a YouTube video that was likely to be widely posted from a band that had their greatest success through that kind of viral propagation...
OK Go singer Damien Kulash has an open letter on the situation and why things are the way they are in the modern music biz, especially in regards to their damn impressive video "This Too Shall Pass" and why every click is sacred.
The whole letter is worth a read — Kulash is smart, funny, insightful — and filled with gems like these:
- "People of the world, there has been a revolution. You no longer give a shit what major labels want you to listen to (good job, world!), and you no longer spend money actually buying the music you listen to (perhaps not so good job, world)."
- "As you’ve no doubt noticed, sites like YouTube, MySpace, and Blahzayblahblah.cn run ads on copyrighted content. Back when Young MC's second album (the one that didn't have Bust A Move on it) could go Gold without a second thought, labels would’ve considered these sites primarily promotional partners like they did with MTV, but times have changed. The labels are hurting and they need every penny they can find, so they’ve demanded a piece of the action. "
- "With or without this embedding problem, we'll never get 50 zillion views on a YouTube video again. That moment – the dawn of internet video – is gone. The internet isn’t as anarchic as it was then. Now there are Madison Avenue firms that specialize in “viral marketing” and the success of our videos is now taught in business school. But here's a secret: zillions of hits was never the point. We're a rock band, and it’s a great gig. Not just because we get to snort drugs off the Queen of England (we do), but because the only thing we are expected to do is make cool stuff. We chase our craziest ideas for a living, and if sharing those ideas takes 40 websites instead of one, it doesn’t make too big a difference to us."
Read it all at okgo.com
And, in the spirit of anarchy and non-monetization, here's an embed of the video in question:
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