Jason’s Right
Jason Calacanis says there’s no business model for YouTube. Jason’s one of my heroes in the publishing business, and I’m going to have to back him up on this one. It’s nothing more than Napster for video. And it will continue to serve an illegal function up until the courts shut them down. Yes, it’s cool to be able to find all kinds of crazy videos on demand, but a lot of those videos are the sole property of NBC, especially in the Lazy Sunday case, and big companies don’t generally take too kindly to having their content stolen and then freely distributed.
Definitely an interesting read. Didn’t understand your drug dealer reference though. Also, are you taking a different stand than Jason – the tone of your post makes it sound like you don’t think YouTube should be allowed to exist, but he makes it clear that YouTube should be allowed to exist and that it’s not their responsibility how users use/abuse it.
J-Fleaux
February 20, 2006 at 9:20 pm
No, I’m saying that unless YouTube comes up with some kind of model where they allow, let’s say, NBC to define how their content is used on YouTube. If there’s a small purchase plan, great. If not, the site is gonna get slammed by every major arts industry in the world for pirating that which is not theirs to pirate.
J. Botter
February 20, 2006 at 10:51 pm
[...] What others are saying Eric Schonfeld is “… a bit surprised by this move.” He is in the camp that thinks the publicity was good for NBC. Nevermind the fact that nobody bothered to ask NBC for permission beforehand. Don Dodge, formerly VP of product development for the original Napster writes: “If YouTube can stay out of court, screen content appropriately, build its user base, and attract advertisers, they will have a very nice business.” Paul Kedrosky challenges Jason’s claim that a YouTube clone could be built in five days. In the comments Calacanis adds that five days for the basic structure, a month so it scales up to the 50TB/day of traffic that YouTube is pumping. Kent Newsome: “So these may or may not be real businesses, but just like “strange women lyin’ in ponds distributin’ swords is no basis for a system of government,” the possibility of a pirated file is no basis for deciding that something isn’t a real business.” Ben Barren: “YouTube is a business in the same way Skype is a business, in that it’s another cut into a large industry. It’s valuation as a business, assuming it keeps it’s growth rates up user wise, will depend on whether someone wants to punt on its commercialisation.” J. Botter: “Jason’s one of my heroes in the publishing business, and I’m going to have to back him up on this one. You Tube is nothing more than drug dealers making it easy for the masses to pirate video and audio and make it available across this spectrum.” Drug dealers? I’m not sure I’d go that far, but curious analogy. Venture Capitalist, Fred writes: “Let me break it down for you Jason. Youtube is as much a business as MySpace or Digg which you cite as real businesses in your post … I am rooting for them because I love the service as a consumer.” Om Malik: “I believe that the growing popularity of You Tube (and other online video sites… about 95 in total as per Mary Hodder of Dabble) has less to do with amateur content, and more to do with copyright infringing content.” Mathew Ingram: “What seems to have escaped the network’s mind is the fact that the video already aired on the program, and therefore has made as much revenue as any episode of the show normally does, not to mention the fact that the attention the video got could drive thousands more people to watch future shows.” [...]
Make You Go Hmm: » YouTube great example that Wild, Wild, Web still alive
February 21, 2006 at 9:25 am
Are YouTube just another bunch of pirates?
It’s possible that if YouTube fail to police themselves adequately that eventually someone else (e.g. the courts) will do it for them.
Steve Newson DOT NET
February 21, 2006 at 10:23 am
[...] A lot of people are writing a lot of things about YouTube and NBC. Here’s the only one that matters: What seems to have escaped the network’s mind is the fact that the video already aired on the program, and therefore has made as much revenue as any episode of the show normally does, not to mention the fact that the attention the video got could drive thousands more people to watch future shows. As usual, the network seems prepared to sacrifice all that free marketing for a little short-term profit. And that’s why it’s called “old” media. (emphasis mine) [...]
chartreuse (BETA) » Blog Archive » Napster Reloaded: Solving The YouTube/NBC Problem
February 21, 2006 at 1:14 pm
[...] I’ve suffered a major pulled muscle in my back, so I’m racked up at home until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. I’ll definitely be around later to discuss a few things, but I wanted to post a note saying that I realize that my comment comparing YouTube to drug dealers was probably a bit strong and perhaps quite a bit off-base. I don’t believe YouTube has a business model nor can one be built off of hosting videos uploaded by users, because if there was, then Kazaa and other file-sharing services would be worth billions and not living in the mercy of the federal government and the RIAA. [...]
the j. botter weblog » Blog Archive » More YouTube
February 21, 2006 at 4:25 pm
[...] Somewhere, amidst all the noise and confusion surrounding Jason Calacanis’ recent pronouncement of YouTube’s worthlessness, we read the following from j. botter: Jason’s one of my heroes in the publishing business, and I’m going to have to back him up on this one. [...]
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