How long is this one going to last?
As I wrote in my previous post … I have a special talent I had no idea that I had! When I share a YouTube video on my Pinterest pages or on WordPress, etc. it gets taken down right away by “Record Industry Weasels” — sometimes in less than an hour.
I am a YouTube video sharing jinx!
Yes, I know what you will reply, “Denny, these things are always getting taken down due to copywrong violations”. True they often do. However I have shared videos originally POSTED WAY BACK IN 2007 which as soon as I shared them — GET TAKEN DOWN.
This has been especially true of so many of the Hanako Oku videos I loved. My YouTube playlist for her is now all grey boxes.
For example … There was this one video where she was on a TV talk show early in her career (about 2008). She is wearing her famous Ford Mustang jacket on this show – I do not know what the name was – but the comedic host looked exactly like a Japanese Soupy Sales. She is talking to him, joking and laughing uncontrollably, covering her face the way Japanese women do when they laugh, and completely endearing herself to me. She then plays “Kaette Oide”, which the host also tries to sing along with. There are a lot of great, funny moments. The RIW took it down to their Copywrongs. NOW THIS WONDERFUL MOMENT IS GONE FOREVER!!!
WHO THE HELL WAS THIS VIDEO CLIP HURTING? What, someone will not buy Kaette Oide because they can just watch a little bit of it on the clip? The TV station was getting a good plug as well. Did they just not want it shown because “Dammit we own it“.
Record Industry Weasels want to protect their property of course, but they can go too far. If I could talk to those weasels in the legal department at PonyCanyon Records I might say this:
Look, I found out how much I like Hanako Oku by watching her various video performances on YouTube. I loved her music, so I sent for and bought all of her CDs from Japan! Had I not seen these videos – which have now been taken down – I probably would not have been inspired to purchase all of her CDs. (“…You idiots”, I might add if I were face-to-face with the weasels .)
Ok, if the studio song is removed, that is one thing I understand – but not the unique TV appearances and shopping mall concerts. So, by removing these unique videos – which are basically ads for your product anyway – you may be making LESS money. Weasels, please think again. Maybe someone wants to compile a history of Hanako Oku. These hard to find videos are a unique way to appreciate the artists.
I have now lost so many adorable Hanako Oku videos where she is creating a unique performance, and is just being herself, and …. AAARRRGHHH … I’m an idiot.
I know, you readers are saying — I should have downloaded those videos as soon as they were posted. You are correct, I should have snagged them. My thinking was that since the videos had been there for years that they would be there next week when I have time to do it – then AAARRRGGHH.
Now look, I thought that rock stars (at least from my generation) expected music to be wild and free and to really stick it to big business and “the Man” who keeps us down. Today’s rock stars and their Record Industry Weasels are way too hypocritical. Music companies sell music which glorify independence and revolution, yet get very territorial if the French revolutionaries actually show up at their Bastille.
I will not criticize Miss Oku. I am sure that she does not want her music stolen. However, I have to believe that she would come to understand that these “promotional videos” of her appearances on TV shows and the like, are actually good for driving up sales, because they increase interest in the artist. Even grainy out-of-focus fan cams increase my interest, but these do not replace my CD buying choices.
I do not create illegal videos. Actually that is mostly because I’m a tech idiot. I actually own Hanako Oku DVDs, but I would be too stupid to figure out how to convert a Japan-only disc to a file that would work on my computer, much less uploaded to YouTube.
Full disclosure: I did not coin the term “Record Industry Weasels”. The concept was named by TV talk show host David Letterman. I can remember that one time Dave wanted to get The Go-Gos on his show, but due to music publication legalities, he could only have two of the five members on stage. Letterman also told stories that he talked to a “weasely guy” from the record company about booking musicians on the show.
Starlight: 33 years since Mr. Letterman introduced the concept.
See more Hanako Oku on my Pinterest page linked here.