Conan O’Brien is not the only one in a creative tussle with the man. Have you heard the one about OK Go, EMI, and YouTube? Er, well, this isn’t quite as brutal an argument as Coco’s, but still: the map to the future of music is at stake. By which I mean finding the money.
So, here’s what’s up: OK Go, the band that rose to stardom arguably on the backs of its videos (remember the synchronized treadmill dance?), is in a bit of a bind: EMI, which is now their record label, says OK Go videos shall be “embedding disabled by request” on YouTube (to pick up the page view ad revenue, I assume). How does this kind of move impact a band that was probably built on the power of viral marketing? Does it get them closer to the money at this stage or risk moving the pot further away again?
Frontman Damian Kulash typed a poignant exegesis on the band’s plight. There was also an engaging interview.
Clearly, the future is confusing for everyone and the increasingly pressing problem of financing that future is making people extra edgy, but what can we take from this? That once you get to a certain level–major motion pictures, platinum albums, best selling crime fiction–the rules change and that’s fine (same as it ever was)? The early years of web development were fun and exciting and all, but maybe the business-minded middle men are not going to go quietly into that good night. Are they (and their control issues) finally going to catch up to things and redirect our course? Maybe we are just at the bumpy beginning of the stage where money is awkwardly reintroduced into the equation, starting (and perhaps remaining) with many of the same major players in any industry. We’ve been running so hard looking for the cash to support our content creation ventures and sweating out our passion along the trail, but I’m worried that when we find it, it will look like the real world–most people will pull into an intellectual Wal-Mart, pay to access the “good stuff” they have been advertised and that has been standardized and preselected for their convenience.
Too dystopian a vision? Maybe I just need a nap. A long one. And when I wake up, hopefully you people will have this headache sorted out.