Thinking like a copyright holder

It should not suprise you that YouTube/Google and Copyright holders have diffenet views on the Value of content. People might wonder why a company would walk away from something like YouTube. A fraction of a cent per stream is a lot more than nothing, but you need to think like a copyright holder.

Principles matter - Copyright holders don't engage in logical debates about the 'value' of their content. They own it and they establish the value. They have the law on their side and they want their money. It is the principle of getting paid for their work, for every use, that matters. Dick Parsons of Time Warner said "If you let one thing ignore your rights as an owner it makes it much more difficult to defend those rights when the next guy comes along."

The question is can one or two fo the big eight break away and change the dynamic. I am not sure if that would change the world or not.

I think of the reasons that YouTube has taken off so much is because the users have so much freedom. I am not sure what will happen to a site like this if the customers do not have that level of freedom.