When we last mentioned NBC and YouTube, it was all about how YouTube had gotten a take-down notice from NBC, and how they were riding copyright infringement to success.
We the people of independent media were pleased. Some brash young company came on the scene, did video the wrong way, disregarded rights of the creators, and got slapped for it. Of course a slap usually doesn’t hurt very much, does it?
Today when I search for "nbc youtube" the first result is Boing Boing: NBC nastygrams YouTube over "Lazy Sunday" and the second is NBC strikes deal with YouTube | CNET News.com. That’s how fast things change. In about six months NBC goes from almost suing YouTube to partnering with them. Obviously we have a new business plan to investigate…
But is it really new? It looks like the Napster thing, do something naughty, maybe even illegal, and when you get called on it, attempt to go legit. You’ve probably gained a ton of users, and name recognition, and as long as you’ve got the VC money and lawyers, you’re set.
Obviously I’m doing it all wrong. The rewards don’t go to honest companies/people, they go to the ones that play dirty and break laws. So who wants to start a new venture with me?