G4 denies request to share my The Screen Savers LEGO interview. That’s so Old Media.
Yesterday I received this fax from E! Networks, parent company for G4, denying my request to share a 5-minute video of me being interviewed on The Screen Savers in late 2004. The experience was a memorable and significant one for me, and I would like to share the video with friends and LEGO fans alike. It’s currently not available anywhere online, instead the clip is handcuffed by DMCA laws and relegated to the studio archives to live out what could have been a useful life as a long-tail piece of content. I find this quite ironic, given that cease-and-decist-warrior Kevin Rose was a host on the show at the time and that The Screen Savers emerged from the far geek-friendlier TechTV.
I set myself up for this. I decided to do the right thing and ask permission from the studio to post the video, instead of violating the copyright laws. While I don’t regret my actions, I kinda expected their answer to be no. I believe the studio’s decision is an ill-conceived, antiquated relic of old-media practices.
The whole thing gets even more ironic, considering that:
- The interview happened almost three and a half years ago.
- It has been shared on the Internet before, in MPG format, before YouTube (and DMCA takedown notices) became popular.
- The clip has almost no commercial value to them, but tremendous personal value to me.
Here is a copy of the reply I received from E! Networks. Click to view it full size:
The studios and their lawyers continue to demonstrate that they don’t get it. Locking up content that was delivered over the airwaves for free in the first place is silly, and it limits the clips’ exposure to new and niche audiences that go beyond the mass audience of viewers.
A big PR win for G4 and other studios would be to post old show content and allow people to embed their favorite clips and discuss them. This way the content can live on. In return, the studios will receive even more exposure for their shows. And in the light of all of the takedown notices and restrictive practices of the last few years, they could be seen as revolutionaries for doing so.
I’d still love to share the video online. Here’s what you can do to help:
- Write Marlene Lee, Executive Director of Rights and Clearances at E! Networks, and the one who denied my request. PLEASE keep your notes short and on topic. Also, please focus on the issue and don’t attack her or the studio personally. I have her fax number, but won’t post it here. If someone has the email convention for eentertainment.com I can post an obfuscated email address.
- Digg this so it gets more attention and so more people write.
- Twitter this, especially in reply to people like @leolaporte, @kevinrose, and @sarahlane.
Hopefully with that I’ll be able to show my interview segment soon!