https://youtu.be/PpOPhqdFnlY
The question has popped up several times in the past two days on my youtube channels, “Is this a joke?”, to which I replied yes, it is a joke, and it’s also a challenge.
My standup fans will appreciate how bizarre the situation is, when you can monetize #shorts, monetize your own music whether you use it or someone else does — songs are tracked by their electronic fingerprints and users are charged accordingly — and use other people’s music to create things for which you don’t get paid, but which bring your subscribers in by the thousands.
You’ll need to more or less instantly develop the complete and unshakable confidence that people LOVE what you’re doing and really appreciate deeply what you’re offering in the way of entertaining channel-building videos on youtube.
So the argument goes, how can we use other people’s music on our videos?
Well, everybody’s doing it, for one thing, but when it’s someone else’s music, you don’t get paid for the play, the actual owners of copyright get paid for it, although infinitesimally.
For a million hits, you’d get maybe about a thousand dollars. I personally can think of hundreds of ways to raise a thousand dollars without getting one million people to donate their time and attention to my cause by watching all my videos all the way through and liking and subbing at the same time.
But what about the borrowing of other people’s work, like sticking Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass” on the bottom of a video I made in Second Life?
Well, the Meghan Trainor popular song “I Made You Look” is note-for-note the same song as the fifties hit, “My Boyfriend’s Back” — test it and see for yourself.
In addition, she mentions by name three famous designers — Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Versace, which is taking advantage of their fame for the purpose of her song, and that’s totally fair.
Actually, you’re doing exactly the same thing she’s doing, but she’s doing it for money. You really don’t want to monetize your videos on youtube — they’ve changed their policy and you can’t win there, so don’t even try.
I use the Bee Gees song, “Stayin’ Alive”, knowing full-well that it’s a variation of a fifties ballad, and I repose in the sure and steady knowledge that it happens all the time and nobody gets upset about it, especially on youtube, where it’s all about promotion.
Andy Warhol once painted an unauthorized portrait of Marilyn Monroe, over which she sued and lost — you can create an original work of art with a famous person implanted on it, if it’s a one-of-a-kind, it’s the law. More than one, it’s considered publication, which is what art prints would be.
Check your Fed Code Title 18 to see the rest of a rather grim one-sided story favoring the big music producers. So don’t you find it funny that the celebrity names on the music matter far more than what’s in the video?
That’s ironic, and it deserves standup comedy treatment, and that’s what I’ve done. I find it extremely hilarious that celebrity has become so important, and I’ve duly imitated the Industry Leaders in the youtube #shorts market, trying to find that unique formula that will allow my satirical and parodical offerings to glean millions of views from millions of happy viewers.
Why?
Well, why do people go fishing? Why do they climb mountains? Why do they try to sell insurance? Why do they sing love songs and why do they go on diets?
Because it’s a challenge, and everybody needs a challenge in order to keep going.
When you get into your later years, you’ll appreciate even more the need for challenge, and even if you’re a youngster, challenge is important to you to keep you going and to refresh your energy, in spite of the urge to just lie down and go napping, until everybody calms down.
That may take more than several lifetimes.
In the meanwhile, what are you gonna do for aggravation? Well, I have the perfect answer, “The Youtube Game of Made You Look”, that’s what.
You think that’s so different from the word of art? Think again. You’re walking past a gallery, or perhaps just a few paintings wired to the fence around the local park, and there are thousands of pedestrians passing by every minute.
Clearly, you’re in any modern metropolis, in which case one out of every five of them is homeless and in greater need than you ever were.
So, your art market is from that crowd.
Listen, they haven’t got the slightest intention to buy a painting from anyone at any price, and they’re walking by really quickly, pretending not to see you or your artwork.
And that’s who you have to grab by the collar and shove up against a painting and say, “You like this? It’s only twenny-figh dollars, no tax.”
Believe me, the artist is not cheating the government. The average street artist makes far less on the average art sale than the price of a sandwich and a cup of Pepsi.
So why bust your head against the odds, as if your #shorts video were a lottery ticket that’s taking a zillion-to-one shot of winning?
Well, because it IS a lottery, and you can win more than money by playing it and hitting the million views mark, that’s why.
And that’s why I’m sort of a cross between an art dealer and a racetrack tout. I publish a tip-sheet, see?
Well, to be precise, I sell my videos on etsy. They have my own music on them, which you can easily replace with whatever music you like. I do that to allow you to make that decision, but also to avoid legal issues that I would have if I published someone else’s music, see?
I do this for my marketing students, at the rate of $10 a packet of five videos, and you get to choose the subject and type of video.
I guarantee you’ll get at least 1,000 views on every video, or I will replace them until they get the right number of hits — provided you have done your part of the work by devising a powerful headline title, with all the right key words and power words, and done the right things in the description box, the instructions for which I provide at our workshops and morning zoom meetings, and don’t forget to add #shorts at the BACK of the headline, not the front, as I have done many times before I learned not to do that.
Each video that I make is perfectly balanced between getting views and having solid content that fits your channel’s needs.
The key to this offering is that you keep the video to yourself, meaning use it on your channel, but don’t ship it out directly to anyone. It’s for your use only, on your own channel, until you learn or have the time to make videos of your own.
The thing is, like the lottery ticket, you have to depend on fluke and luck to hit the jackpot, and the main thing there is to hold the inflexible and unassailable BELIEF that you will eventually hit the jackpot if only you keep trying.
As the Lord said to the lottery player, “You want a Miracle??? Then at least buy a lottery ticket — I can’t just transfer funds out of the blue.”
So put up a few videos, which is the same as buying a lottery ticket. Take a chance. The price is right — nothing.
That’s right, you pay nothing except your own time and energy, and let me tell you right now, fishing for views with rare and unusual videos is a lot of FUN!
I guess that’s the bottom line — I hope people will have FUN with my videos — they’re meant to entertain, not to raise money, and the Youtube Game is meant to inspire new confidence in yourself and your ability to succeed at anything you really want to do.
So let’s see what I’ve dug up for the morning’s digestion:
Enough for the moment,
See You At The Top!!!
gorby