This week I took some time out to request that YouTube remove some sub standard footage of one of my previous bands. The clips were filmed without permission and then loaded onto YouTube also without permission. Two of these clips were from a well know UK ukulele festival where we can very poor sound on stage which was one of the factors that meant I didn’t want that footage out there.
There seems to be an assumption that anyone can post footage online of artists without any discussion and in my view this is not great for either the artists or the listening/watching public. In the same way comedians have become more reluctant to do small unannounced shows testing out material for major performances as there’s often someone recording on a phone and blasting some of their not yet fully formed material all over YouTube.
I appreciate the enthusiasm that some some people may have in posting, but I think its only respectful to seek permissions before posting to the wider public. For me it would be like someone finding some half written lyrics and then posting them on social media. One of the people who I issued a copyright claim against was quite tetchy about having “a black mark against their name” My response is ask politely if its OK to film and definitely if its OK to broadcast on your own video channel BEFOREHAND and then there will be no problems…
