Posting videos on Youtube and Google Video

[Blackstar]

I've been checking out the Video sites and ran acorss some really good stuff, 80 blue devils. I know "legally" they aren't allowed but don't you think putting some on these sites exposes the activity to more people.

On another thought I think it would be great to see some of the smaller corps or even some DCA corps on the sites.

[Studio Tan]

Of course it's good for the activity and I won't hear anything to the contrary.

[CSGreen]

There are some DCA corps and promos out there. Several put out by the corps themselves

[Matt_S]

It's good for the reasons of exposure. If someone is browsing that site and comes across a corps vid, maybe they think it's worth looking into and become a fan, maybe even a marching member.

On the other hand, a couple of the vids I've seen have been recorded at shows, something DCI explicitly prohibits. If we start seeing decent quality videos on there, perhaps it cuts into the motivation to get out and attend a show. Perhaps it cuts into DVD or CD sales. I can see the potential for valuable funding lost. This weekend I'm driving for several hours, probably spending as much on gas as I did for my $77 worth of tickets, to catch the Battle Creek show. Would having that very show on YouTube the following week cut into the number of people who would do the same? I think that it would.

[Studio Tan]

Listen, I know it's not really very legal, but if it can be a free sample of sorts so that prospective fans go out and buy legal stuff, whether it's APDs, show tickets, souvenirs, or whatever, then it's done its job. Can't always play by the rules here. I've bootlegged shows so that I can listen to them in the car and on my own time to get a better feel for the music. Are you guys telling me that not one of you has a single MP3 off Soulseek or whatever that technically you shouldn't have?

Youtube can do great work for a lot of things. DCI needs to realize this and just turn a blind eye to it as best they can, for the greater good.

[Studio Tan]

we start seeing decent quality videos on there, perhaps it cuts into the motivation to get out and attend a show.

You're not serious, are you? Honestly. You don't actually mean that. Who here is saying that a 400-pixel-by-300-pixel (or whatever) box on a computer screen is even CLOSE to an acceptable substitute for buying the ticket and being there? Direct me to who is saying such a thing, so I can have them committed. Nobody's gonna say "wellllllll I guess I WAS gonna go see the Scouts the other night but meh it'll be on youtube." It's not a replacement, it's a free sample.

Edited July 14, 2006 by Studio Tan

[Kevlar496]

You're not serious, are you? Honestly. You don't actually mean that. Who here is saying that a 400-pixel-by-300-pixel (or whatever) box on a computer screen is even CLOSE to an acceptable substitute for buying the ticket and being there? Direct me to who is saying such a thing, so I can have them committed. Nobody's gonna say "wellllllll I guess I WAS gonna go see the Scouts the other night but meh it'll be on youtube." It's not a replacement, it's a free sample.

Very true! I saw a vid of SCV on "youtube" and it only made me want to find a way to get to a show. I'm taking about 20 on my students to Louisiana on a four hour bus ride just to get a fix. That vid of SCV did them no justice at all. Nothing on TV is near as good as seeing it live. Nothing.

[ScribeToo]

Are you guys telling me that not one of you has a single MP3 off Soulseek or whatever that technically you shouldn't have?

I do not have a single MP3 or sound file (or vid file) that was obtained through illegal sources or questionable sources.

The vid sites I have gone to are the ones a corps has specifically listed on their site.. directing fans to them for "tastes" of their shows. I haven't gone to any private youtube or veoh sites.

Granted, that's my choice.. and I don't necessarily think everyone should do as I do.

And while I don't think having videos posted of shows is going to drive people to choose to stay home.. I don't see how it helps, especially, to have a full show posted anywhere other than through DCI for purchase. They own the rights, they've obtained the rights from the composers (which often costs quite a bit) and it eats into those rights when the music and images get "stolen" (for lack of a better word) and distributed for free. Having Videos and MP3s posted of shows WILL drive people to not purchase the same product (or similar products) through legitimate sources.

That's how I think it will hurt the activity in the long run.

I do like the idea of "samples" -- kind of like BMG or Sony music does with their videos.. you can get a low image quality sample.. a minute or so.. of a video.. but to watch the whole thing, you have to purchase it. That makes sense.

I don't see that happening with DCI just yet.. so I think random people posting copyrighted material on sites like that is not a good thing overall.

Stef

[festive]

Having Videos and MP3s posted of shows WILL drive people to not purchase the same product (or similar products) through legitimate sources.

NOT necessarily. Musical groups that have willingly parted with a song or two for me to listen to have invariably caused me to buy their cds/dvds/downloads through itunes/etc. A "track" from a drum corps show (i.e. the opener or something) might very well cause someone to go "buy" the show from dci or other legitimate sources. If they like the taste, they'll want more. Or if the available version isn't full quality, they'll want full quality and pay for it. I know that's the case with my music buying habits.

Having a "lossy" video of a drum corps show does nothing other than get the point across that something is worth seeing live. It certainly isn't in any form that would be listenable/viewable on an ongoing basis...who wants to watch some pixelated video with crummy sound over and over again? What it can do is convince me that I need to go to DCI Atlanta, for example...something I hadn't planned on doing.

Take for instance the "taste" of the annual DVD's put out by some corps on their websites. I immediately go get the download and then (almost as quickly) order the DVD.

Example: Regiment has a 50th anniv. DVD. It might be available already...not sure. But they haven't put up a sample and I haven't bought it yet.

Want me to buy stuff? Sell it to me. Get me interested.

This isn't exactly complex marketing theory.

[Kevlar496]

And while I don't think having videos posted of shows is going to drive people to choose to stay home.. I don't see how it helps, especially, to have a full show posted anywhere other than through DCI for purchase. They own the rights, they've obtained the rights from the composers (which often costs quite a bit) and it eats into those rights when the music and images get "stolen" (for lack of a better word) and distributed for free. Having Videos and MP3s posted of shows WILL drive people to not purchase the same product (or similar products) through legitimate sources.

That's how I think it will hurt the activity in the long run.

I do like the idea of "samples" -- kind of like BMG or Sony music does with their videos.. you can get a low image quality sample.. a minute or so.. of a video.. but to watch the whole thing, you have to purchase it. That makes sense.

I don't see that happening with DCI just yet.. so I think random people posting copyrighted material on sites like that is not a good thing overall.

Stef

As an arranger/composer, I feel it is wrong to pirate copyrighted material for resale, but to just get a glimpse is fine. In some cases, I might sell more. It could be free advertising. If I chose to not purchase DVD's or CD's, it's not because I have "stolen" versions, it's because I might not be able to afford them. The quality of those "stolen" recordings is not even close to the quality of the DCI productions.

Edited July 14, 2006 by Kevlar496