It's ironic that I'm writing this post on Blogger, which is owned and operated by Google. After all, I'm writing this post as a means of waggling my finger disapprovingly at the very company which is allowing me to publish it. It's actually much in the spirit of journalism as it was originally intended in the United States, that the Third Estate should be allowed to serve as watchdogs to inform the greater public of what their government is up to.
I just got done reading a story on Raw Story laying out some recent shenanigans that Youtube is engaged in with an independent musicians' outfit regarding negotiations over their upcoming streaming music service, MusicPass. The language of the warnings issued by Google/Youtube boil down essentially to this: Use our pay service, or have your work removed.
What happened to the tagline 'Broadcast Yourself'? Youtube was supposed to be one of those tools that could act as a great equalizer, allowing talented individuals and entertainers to gather a grassroots audience of followers and take their skills to the broader public, without having to go in on travel, high-end production equipment, and the rigmarole of finding an available venue to perform at without being told to hit the bricks a hundred times before someone with a kinder heart opened up and said 'Sure, we'll give you a go'. It was the online equivalent of CBGB, whose open-minded founder and owner, Hilly Kristal, helped give rise to the musical phenomenon known as punk rock by giving pretty much everybody who came through at least a minimal chance to show people what they could do.
This is all too SOP for the Google-owned video hosting site these days. Want to try starting up a budding voice-acting career? Not unless you've already come with a pre-arranged host of subscribers and supporters, most of whom will have trouble these days finding the button that will give them access to their desired subscriptions.
I really wish Google would take Youtube back to what it used to be, a place by and for the dedicated content producers who are clearly trying to make an honest go of it without the aid of advanced and expensive editing/effects programs. Mayhap I'm just complaining because I don't have access to those tools myself, and if you're reading this and thinking 'This guy's just jealous', you wouldn't be entirely wrong. However, I do take umbrage with the notion that Google only wants people who are potentially profitable primarily to THEM to have widespread coverage with their user base.
Do the indie users no longer matter, Google? What happened to the days when someone could rise to at least moderate notoriety by offering quality material?
Google, you have done evil. How will you respond, now that you've been called on it?
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