Tragedy, it is the only word to describe what has happened to the internet over the past week. You Tube’s recent policy changes when it comes to copyright claims are quite literally destroying lives. People like to scoff say I’m being melodramatic which, unfortunately is a far more terrifying revelation. We as gamers and lovers of a medium are turning on those who have brought legitimacy to our medium. Why have we done such a thing? That is what I truly don’t understand. What drives people to tell e-sports competitors or online personalities to get a real job? If that is how we as a community are going to behave then we have proven that gaming does not deserve legitimacy or acclaim.
With You Tube’s recent changes it now refuses to protect it’s partners from copyright claims which allows a copyright holder to claim all revenue for a video because it contains the copyright holders content. This completely overlooks fair use laws for satire critique and review. With no recourse to turn to Youtubers reach out to the void that is the internet. What are they met with? Ridicule being told to get a real job. Sure there has been some support but it seems for the most part that people shrug and move on. The Youtuber is not seen as having a legitimate career. That really is the most pressing issue I want to address we can argue copyright law and that these Youtubers are technically making money of someone else’s content. I’ll address some of those concerns here copyright law is out of date archaic and a relic of greedy old men who want to squeeze every penny out of individuals.
Lawmakers and their corporate masters need to catch up with reality. You Tube content creators have changed the landscape forever. You will never have your captive audience back, you need to evolve with the world or die like the out of date relic you are. Because of content created by online personalities I’ve gone without television for five years. If a show is good enough my now trusted online personalities will let me know and I’ll buy the dvd or keep an eye out for it on Netflix. This is the new landscape anyone with a dream and a camera can let their creative side flow. Thanks to ad revenue these creators can focus fully on a job they love and we the consumer are better for it.
Really the people behind these copyright claims pretend like we are only tuning into a video for their game footage. The truth is that we tune in for the personalities the music, the footage it’s all flare. It’s nice but not necessary. The personality is what keeps us coming back; this is why we should change copyright law to protect anyone making parody, critique or review. The viewers are there for them. The copyright owner should simply be happy he’s being talked about. In fairness many game developers and publishers are coming out against this as they should; they get free PR in this new media landscape we the internet have created.
Again we can argue copyright law and it’s place another time the real reason I decided to write this was the reaction of a sizeable chunk of the internet. They are not only apathetic to the Youtubers plight they seem to outright despise the Youtuber. This is something I cannot understand so I thought I’d write and open letter to those saying Youtubers should get real jobs.
I have a “real” job it sucks. I spend forty to sixty hours a week listening to people bitch. Sure there are good parts I mean it does pay the bills. Have you even wondered why content creation on this site can be slow? Well we all have “real” jobs I personally get burnt out from all the other bullshit I have to deal with in a regular work week that it becomes hard to find the energy to sit down and write about this industry that I love. I started Broken Joysticks with my business partner Rae Langdon because we know that with many game sites you get a sanitized PR mouthpiece. To some degree Rae and I used to be a part of that bullshit PR mouthpiece. So we decided we would found a website where gamers can give honest opinions where we won’t hold to the 7-10 rating system. Where, we would have discussions about our medium that matter.
Eventually we want this company to expand to cover geek culture as a whole and as always we want to tell it like it is not be afraid of losing some corporate sponsorship. This simply is not doable well working a “real” job. As we pour ourselves into this project and continue to grow their will come a time where we will have to abandon our “real”jobs. Taking an enormous risk where we could become homeless if it didn’t pan out. The reason I paint this picture for you is because that is the drive we have here. That is the drive of every Youtuber you dismiss. Some Youtubers even make it big Angry Joe, Total Biscut, Game Grumps. These channels get huge they pour money into lighting and effects spend sixty hours writing, filming, editing and, rendering videos all to entertain their fans. People like me who dare to dream that this is the future of entertainment and journalism.
These Youtubers are not some lazy idiots who don’t want to work they are creative artist who want to entertain. They are scriptwriters, producers, actors all in one. Every week, or in some cases every day: they are creating new content. Doing all the work of a television shows entire crew with a handful of people in the cases of Angry Joe it’s often just him.
Welcome to the new entertainment landscape. These copyright claims may strangle so many young creators, but I believe they will prevail; because in the end we come to view the honest personalities. I hope that those reading Broken Joysticks are here for the same reason. To all the nay-sayers I pity you. You cannot understand and appreciate the passion and drive of someone who loves what they do. May you be eternally jealous and miserable.
