Rhim's YouTube Question

[Rhim]

Hello.

I have a question for everyone. It's not about anything fun, it's about web traffic and business crap.
feel free to post honest opinions. Even if you think I'm not going to like it I have thought about every side to this... but i want to know what you guys think.

YouTube has been a bit of a free-for-all when it comes to TBM vids. People post/host anything of ours they want. 99% of the time, it's cool and we are grateful people care enough to post things we've done, or video they have shot of us!!!
I have recently wondered if the band could be better served if we prevented people from posting our professionally shot vids.

By "prevent" i mean nicely asking people to remove a vid, not reporting a channel/vid and getting people suspended. no one likes that.
By "professionally shot" I'm not refering to fan shot vids, AMVs, video game music vids, or the like. I am refering to vids someone paid to have made.

My reasoning? I am wondering if the band could be better served by being the sole hosts of these vids and therefore... gain the benifits of increased traffic to our official sources. When people search for "blue" I think it would help the band...if our page actually came up in the results. We hadn't bothered to put blue on youtube (fixed soon)... cause others had.

So will I be causing more harm than it's worth? The more I think about it, the more I think I might give it a try. We could use the traffic.

Thoughts?

[mostfamous12]

I think that by other people posting your videos causes GOOD publicity for the band. The downside is that the band loses traffic. As it has been said, people did pay money for these videos to be shot.

EVERYONE looks at youtube. People would like to be directed to what the band has to offer.

So, as Rhim said, people should refrain from posting professional videos. Leave this option to the band, and the labels.

These are just my thoughts..

[Kizztronice]

I think that professionally shot videos should be left to be posted on youtube by someone who is affiliated with the band officially and in doing so there can be a direct link to websites and social networking sites that the band have pages with for instance, myspace, VF, facebook. It makes it alot easier for people to search for someone if the links are there rather than having to go through the labyrinth of the internet to find out information.

(I know people will say well they can just google thats what I did in the past) But its always nice to feel that the video is certainly official and the information is there, because when its just a fan or someone who posts masses of videos the desire to explore may not always be there (why, I dont know, I searched every website I could think of for infomation).

But I do also think live videos shot by fans and home made videos should be left to users to post freely as it does create more publicity for the band.

[Hell's Angi]

interesting question...and it's definitely not as easy to solve as i thought at first...i think i have to colled some thought about this and will post a reply later...

[xrayqueen]

I think it's crappy to post things before they are released...
There's been a vid with a shot of 'Looking glass'.Seriously,I guess it's for the band not this cool.Because you wanna release it noone else,huh?
Also the stuff with vids...Like 'Blue' or ' Nevermind' should be the thing of the band.Who needs a thousand versions of the vid? To search it more and more? I guess we need only one version of it And this should be the version of the band...
About live vids...I think they are okay,indeed the songs you've been recording are not new and not released...
That's what I am admitting to this question...
I guess it's not easy to answer...

[darth_namine]

I'm pretty sure whoever gets messaged by "TBM" (or whoever under the official TBM youtube profile) kindly asking to remove a professionally shot video... would be pissing themselves of happiness so much to actually have "an official tbm message" sent to them, that they would not only happily oblige.. they would probably call up everyone and their dog to say "OMGGGG... GUESS WHO I GOT A MESSAGE ON YOUTUBE FROM "


okay... slight eggaderation there. It's 8 in the freaken' morning, I worked overnight... I am so sleep deprived.

Long story short, I think you worded that so nicely, and I think it's a good idea. It might even encourage some people to create a fan video of their own to replace professional ones with.

[MeDeA_]

this is a very interesting question, and like some of you said..is not easy to answer. And my english vocabulary is a bit...limited..so i'll try to..

I think that..i TBM Officialy post their videos, is ok. I mean..if TBM has an official account in YouTube, in GoogleVideo, in Imeem, etc., etc., etc...They can upload the official videos, those ones that someone paid for. If a Fan want to upload something from a show, or made by themselves, it's ok.

As Kizztronice says, you feel something different when you see that's something that the Band (or someone of The Staff) uploaded.."for you"




(...ok...i need new english classes...2 years without going to the institute, and i can explain my ideas!!!)

[Aesea Neassa]

Originally Posted by Rhim

Hello.


By "prevent" i mean nicely asking people to remove a vid, not reporting a channel/vid and getting people suspended. no one likes that.
By "professionally shot" I'm not refering to fan shot vids, AMVs, video game music vids, or the like. I am refering to vids someone paid to have made.

My reasoning? I am wondering if the band could be better served by being the sole hosts of these vids and therefore... gain the benifits of increased traffic to our official sources. When people search for "blue" I think it would help the band...if our page actually came up in the results. We hadn't bothered to put blue on youtube (fixed soon)... cause others had.

So will I be causing more harm than it's worth? The more I think about it, the more I think I might give it a try. We could use the traffic.

Thoughts?

I think these points are the important points that everyone needs to remember. I think that as long as the band puts the videos up,makes a public announcement and they do it BEFORE they ask people to take the others down,it would be okay. There will be people that don't like it,but ultimately,I think that once people see that the band is not asking for the fan vids to be taken down,and that it is only the professionally made vids,that the band paid to have made,then those people will come around and realize why the band needed to do it. Rhim is NOT saying the band is going to take the videos down altogether,he is just saying that the band should be the sole hosts of the videos. Basically,I think true fans will come to understand the necessity of the band doing something like this(it is for the benefit of the band..no matter how much some people might not like it,it IS the cold hard truth-the music business is not always pretty). And remember the band is being more than fair when they even allow for the fans to bring camera's into their shows,and when they allow for their picture to be taken or a video to be made of their live performances. So basically,I am saying,that yes,there will be backlash,but I think it won't be too damaging,and that will people will come to understand.

[RiFT]

It makes sense to me to ask others to take down TBM's official videos only if TBM is willing to put them all up themselves and in a timely manner.

If nobody from the band or label does it, the demand from the fans to see it is still there and fans will be left to do it.

I feel like it's exactly like this message board. The Violet Prison was left for dead by the band/label/tech people after the 'post reply' broke last year right when the new record came out, and ultimately was resurrected by fans.

I definitely feel the band should have the first chance to post their official videos to increase their traffic, but whether it’s uploaded by fans or the band, I feel like it all helps the band in the end anyway with greater exposure.

[Hell's Angi]

Originally Posted by xrayqueen

I think it's crappy to post things before they are released...
There's been a vid with a shot of 'Looking glass'.Seriously,I guess it's for the band not this cool.Because you wanna release it noone else,huh?

when it was posted in that thread you really welcomed it, or did i get that wrong ?!

Now on topid:

Pro "forbidding" video-sharing (concerning professional videos as you said Rhim):
- You'd be the only source or at least number one source for the videos, so peole would automatically see the other info and footage you have up, this would provide a more complete image of TBM
- as it has been said, you paid for creating those videos (and of course put a lot of work into them), so it's just logical that you are the ones to decide what happens with them, they simply are YOUR videos
- if people find those videos online somewhere and there's no connection to you, such as no link or not even bandname mentioned, they might not even get in touch with the rest of your music, so you should be able to make sure people are able to find you easily and get more info (this is kind of similar to the first point...)

Contra "forbidding":
- the more and wider the videos get spread the higher the chance will be to reach more people
- a lot of people get into bands through their friends and know they might find something nice among the videos they have up, so if a lot of people have your videos in their collection you might be able to gain more fans
- your fans are used to you being very close to them and very easy going, some might get this wrong and be kind of deterred by the fact they are suddenly not allowed to share your videos in this way. mainly because it feels totally natural to most people that official videos are uploaded by everyone.


these are just some things i thought about.
over all i think you should definitely take any steps you think are necessary. these videos are yours, you're not just a band but also some kind of company, you sell products and you have to keep the economic aspect in mind. you need to use your economic intruments as sensible and efficient as possible, in the end it's marketing. if you expect to have any kind of benefit from keeping the videos under control you should do it i guess...

ok, i hope all this made at least sense to some people. i tried to point it out as good as possible, but due to my limited knowledge of the english language it probably sounded pretty crappy lol

[xrayqueen]

[quote=Hell's Angi;2507]when it was posted in that thread you really welcomed it, or did i get that wrong ?!

ahahaha yeah...it's something shizophrenic,i guess.well... its definetely crappy for the band,right?

[Hell's Angi]

yes, sure, i absolutely agree on that. as i said in the thread it didn't impress me at all because it was just a pretty bad cell phone video. and this could make people get a negative impression of the whole video. this is why i didn't really like the fact it was posted.

[Rhim]

Originally Posted by xrayqueen

I think it's crappy to post things before they are released...
There's been a vid with a shot of 'Looking glass'. ....Because you wanna release it noone else,huh?

I checked out the YouTube Vid from the other thread. It has since been removed. I am of the opinion that people are excited about being involved, and they want to share it and that's awesome. (I HAVE to have that opinion: I would drive myself into a rage if I tried to sort out which people posted pic/vids for personal gain) The only reason I asked her to remove the vid... was because it showed the crew. They asked not to be shown online. That was all. She was quite nice about it.

Originally Posted by RiFT

It makes sense to me ... only if TBM is willing to put them all up themselves and in a timely manner. If nobody from the band or label does it, the demand from the fans to see it is still there and fans will be left to do it.

Aye, there's the rub. And it's a debatable point if you ask me. Blue is not hosted by TBM (it will be as of today) cause it was shot way before TBM was actively on youtube. I assume the fans posted it to help promote. And that's pretty Cool. however.. to be clear: Even if TBM decided to never host blue anywhere online, that would not overturn copyright law. We could have a massive thread (read: I could have a massive rant) dedicated to the concept of copying+reposting = free publicity for a band. It doesn't. Now, linking to official sources...that's awesome. No online source? Maybe the band in question has a plan for a promotional vid. Still doesn't mean it HAS to be on youtube. (the debatable part comes in when discussing if giving everything away for free online is the best plan for a band)

Originally Posted by RiFT

I feel like it's exactly like this message board. The Violet Prison was left for dead by the band/label/tech people after the 'post reply' broke last year right when the new record came out, and ultimately was resurrected by fans.

See my other post about what happened to the board. it was being worked on (barely). It just wasn't as high a priority as touring and the album. If that were still the case, or if Echo was difficult to deal with (he's totally not) then the band would simply cease to be involved in this board and...probably put up or own when we found time. BTW, there is still a chance we can save the old board.

[xrayqueen]

Hmmm.Rhim I always was thinking you are way too neat
Anyways,I'm looking so FORWARD to the vid.It's gonna be breath-catching.Like you have to watch it with pocorn on the couch and just enjoy it!

[RiFT]

Rhim, You're right. If you guys don't want an official video on YouTube, it doesn't change copyright law and you'd have every right to have them taken down if you wanted to.

I'm just saying that it would probably still be uploaded on a regular basis and you'd have to worry about having it taken down every few days or weeks or whatever. It doesn't HAVE to be on YouTube. If the band wants it up only on the official MySpace page or official web site, that seems fair as long as it is available to your adoring fans.

If it's something you don't want online at all, like say it's for a DVD, I personally don't mind because I will buy it as I have bought the Blue DVD and anything else you put out. I am not saying all the content should be free. But there will always be people that want it conveniently online, and if the band can manage that, then great. If not, then you're facing the constant challenge of your fans uploading it.

PS Looking Glass is gonne be sweet; on a DVD, the official site, YouTube, here, there, whatever. Probably my favorite song off the new CD. It's one of those songs that are so good I don't even wait for it to end before restarting it.