EMI approves of fanvids?
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Via Google Operating System, this news from MediaPost:
EMI HAS JOINED THE OTHER three major record labels in distributing music videos on YouTube, the companies announced today. In addition to making available clips from acts like Coldplay and Norah Jones, EMI and YouTube plan to develop a system that provides for consumer-created content that uses EMI music and video.
(emphasis mine)
Anyone realise what that means? EMI and YouTube are recognising the legitimacy of fan-created videos using copyrighted music.
For a long time, the creators of fanvids have argued that their use of video clips is fair use because only small snippets are used, but the musical soundtracks to these vids have always been a shadier prospect. This move from EMI might be the beginning of a move towards music companies openly encouraging fans to use their music in vids.
(Some more interesting reading on fanvids: How to watch a fanvid by Henry Jenkins, an academic who studies fandom, talking about the history, culture, and aesthetics of fanvids in general and this Kirk/Spock slash vid set to NIN’s “Closer” in particular. I expect most vidders will have read it already, but for those who didn’t realise that people have been doing this for decades before Youtube came along, it might be a bit of an eye-opener.)
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