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Viacom PWNED on Piracy

2010-06-07 · explainer · John · 3:26 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Internet & YouTube · mode: News analysis · tags: timely hook, civic or action cta, community lore, self correction

Following Hank's Viacom video, John shows that Viacom's Spike.com runs ads on Jonathan Coulton's non-commercial Creative Commons video, so by Viacom's own math it owes Coulton money: 'Where is Jonathan Coulton's $37?'

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Jonathan Coulton as a small media company vs Viacom; a snippet of Coulton's video 'Flickr'

  • ★★ John casts singer-songwriter Jonathan Coulton (who once bought him a beer) as, for today's purposes, a small media company, set against the somewhat larger Viacom. (playful) — 00:00:00

00:00:55 — Flickr's Creative Commons licence and why this video has no ad; recap of Viacom's billion-dollar suit and the ad-money dispute

  • ★★ Coulton made his song video 'Flickr' from Creative Commons-licensed Flickr images and released it under a licence allowing sharing and remixing with attribution and no commercial use. — 00:00:55
  • ★★ Because of that licence, John says, there is no ad next to his head in this video. — 00:00:55
  • ★★★ Recapping Hank's video, John says Viacom is suing YouTube for a billion dollars, claiming YouTube grew on pirated content and made ad money from Viacom-owned content. — 00:00:55 · YouTube
  • ★★ By Viacom's measure YouTube does owe Viacom some money, John jokes, but far less than it owes LonelyGirl15 and 'that evolution of a dance guy'. (playful) — 00:01:29 · YouTube
  • ★★★ John says everybody agrees YouTube should pay Viacom that ad money; the dispute is the amount, YouTube valuing ads at their worth and Viacom as if money grew on trees. (playful) — 00:01:29 · YouTube, online advertising

00:01:58 — Coulton's Flickr video on Spike.com with ads; Viacom does to Coulton what YouTube did to Viacom; $13,823 vs $37

  • ★★★ Following Hank's mention of Spike.com, John found Coulton's Flickr video there behind a cell-phone pre-roll, with ads for Mountain Dew, American Express and Guitar Hero alongside. — 00:01:58

  • ★★★ John's thesis: Viacom is now doing to Coulton what YouTube did to Viacom four years earlier. — 00:01:58 · YouTube

    “Viacom is doing to Jonathan Coulton in 2010 what YouTube was doing to Viacom in 2006”

  • ★★★ The video has over 18,000 views on Spike.com; by Viacom's 'insane' formula Viacom owes Coulton $13,823, by real math $37. (playful) — 00:02:27

  • ★★★ John asks Viacom where Coulton's $37 is, says he emailed Viacom that question, and invites Hank and nerdfighters to do the same via a link in the description. — 00:02:27 · Nerdfighteria

00:02:56 — Email Viacom; Viacom's definition of piracy; sign-off

  • ★★★ John says Viacom, which hates piracy, will surely pay Coulton $37, or $13,823 if views are worth what it claims, unless it defines piracy as stealing from someone with a lawyer. (playful) — 00:02:56

In the description and comments

  • ★★★ John's description update corrects the example: Coulton had given Spike.com's predecessor permission to upload the video. — video description
  • ★★★ The update adds that Viacom owes John sixty cents because Spike.com pirated this very video. (playful) — video description
  • ★★ The update asks viewers to ask Viacom where John's sixty cents is. (playful) — video description
  • ★★ John's description says Viacom-owned Spike.com has been placing ads against content that does not belong to it for years, Coulton's 'Flickr' among it. — video description
  • ★★ John releases this video, like Coulton's 'Flickr', under an Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike Creative Commons licence. — video description
  • ★★★ John warns Viacom that if it steals his video as it stole Coulton's, he will sue. — video description

Humor (significant)

  • Having introduced Jonathan Coulton as a small media company, John holds up the other party. — 00:00:00

    “And this is Viacom, also a media company, somewhat larger.”

  • If YouTube owes Viacom for making it popular, John says, it owes others more. — 00:01:29

    “not nearly as much money as it owes LonelyGirl15 and that evolution of a dance guy”

  • YouTube wants to pay what online video ads are worth; Viacom wants what they would be worth... — 00:01:29

    “if we lived in a land of money trees and candy fountains”

  • Viacom hates piracy, so surely it will pay Coulton - unless there is one other possibility. — 00:02:56

    “Viacom thinks the definition of piracy is stealing from someone who has a lawyer”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Flickr (song / music video by Jonathan Coulton) · Jonathan Coulton · Spike.com · Viacom · Viacom International Inc. v. YouTube, Inc. · YouTube

Also: Works: Evolution of Dance · Guitar Hero · lonelygirl15

Organizations: American Express · Creative Commons · Flickr (photo sharing site)

Terms: in your pants

Concepts: copyright · online advertising

Products: Mountain Dew

Also centred on Spike.com: YouTube vs. Viacom The Battle Explained · Should We Sue Viacom?

Also centred on Viacom: YouTube vs. Viacom The Battle Explained · Should We Sue Viacom? · Mmmm....PARTS

Also centred on Viacom International Inc. v. YouTube, Inc.: YouTube vs. Viacom The Battle Explained · Should We Sue Viacom? · GOOOOOOOL!!!!

Replies to

Later videos replying to this one

Part of an exchange of 5 videos, 2010-06-02 – 2010-06-11.