OK Go and Imitation
by 
under No Tags
with OK Go is one band who has this new media thing all figured out. Are they slapping new and crazy DRM schemes on their CDs to protect their valuable content? Are they taking themselves so seriously that they smack down parodies and imitators with cease and desist letters from their lawyers? No! Quite the contrary, my friend. Check this action out:
When I first saw OK Go’s backyard dancing music video to “A Million Ways”, I was delighted. Here was a band who wasn’t afraid to show their silly side. What’s more, the video is a perfect response to the latest internet trend of silly YouTube videos. It’s brilliant entertainment AND a brilliant piece of advertising. Make a super-low-budget, easily imitated music video, post it to YouTube, and wait for the results.
Well, they waited, and the imitators started coming out of the woodwork. Fans of all ages and abilities began posting their versions of the music video. Here are just a few amazing gems.
But surely this phenomenon was disturbing to the band, right? After all, now YouTube viewers could enjoy their song without paying for it, while watching thieving kids STEAL their choreography! Horrors! What’s a responsible group of entertainers to do?
Why, embrace the trend, of course! Create a YouTube contest inviting the best imitators to perform the dance live onstage with them in a concert! In short, OK Go latched onto their popularity and it took off like wildfire. 183 videos were entered in the contest, and countless new fans of the band were also undoubtedly minted.
Still, never ones to take success lying down, OK Go followed up their fantastic first viral YouTube video with another dancing extravaganza for “Here It Goes Again”. This time, they upped the imitator ante, using a grand total of eight treadmills to create a graceful masterpiece. Watch and be amazed:
The increased complexity of this second offering didn’t discourage the bravest of imitators. Witness a brilliant and EXACTLY accurate (down to the outfits even) reproduction by some enterprising (and no doubt incredibly popular) students from Granbury High School:
And just in case you weren’t convinced that this is a spot-on tribute, let’s see them again side by side:
The most beautiful thing about this is that I didn’t have to make any of these videos. Not even the side-by-side comparison. But I’ve been immensely entertained for over an hour, I’m embedding the videos in my site, and the band’s popularity just continues to grow.
Take notice, record company execs and RIAA doppelgangers. This is how you should promote and foster a financially successful entertainer. Don’t squash the first sign of a creative offshoot because it violates one of your holy agreements. Allow your bands to encourage any popularity that they happen to be lucky enough to get, no matter what form it takes. You’ll be rewarded too.
The internet has changed the rules of the game. Adapt or die.
1
See, I thought they got it too, but then I saw the lead vocalist interviewed on Daily Show or Colbert Report (can’t seem to scare up the video) and he seemed totally clueless. I was expecting some sort of insightful commentary on, like you said, new media promotion techniques, fan involvement, convergence culture - something, ANYTHING that seemed self-aware. Instead, he just went on about “yeah, wasn’t that cool?” and “no, we didn’t expect this to happen.” He made their success appear completely accidental. It’s still a nice story, but after that interview I’m not sure how intentional it was. Maybe there’s some supporting manager who really gets this?
2
He was nervous as hell. It was like meeting a hero. after all the high pressure situations he’s been in, for some reason colbert left him like a deer in headlights. he’s actually very smart and interested and has lots of very aware thoughts about all of it. for a better understanding of how he thinks about some of it check out the nyt editorial he wrote about drm.
3
(Trackback)
links for 2007-02-03 at orioa
[…] alwaysBETA » OK Go and Imitation (tags: youtube Movie) […]
4
Most bands are not “afraid to show their silly side.” It’s a gimmick.
It’s a great video, and many many many artists post their videos to youtube, or some other video sharing site.. it’s called exposure, and they all want it!
Why should they care about people using their choreography? If they sent out “cease and desist letters,” that would be absolutely ridiculous, and counterproductive. Do a youtube search for any popular dance. For instance, try “napoleon dynamite dance”. There are 1,210 results and i guarantee that more than half are imitators. Who gives a damn if people imitate the dance? A cease and desist letter is the last thing anyone would send out over this.
Further, how can you consider this a phenomenon? When people do creative crap like this on youtube it always catches on. How is this any different? Also, why would the band be disturbed by this? Do they not want millions of people to see their video and hear their song? Actually, they do! That’s exactly what they were going for… exposure. Why would you post a video to youtube and then go nuts when people like it?
You know what’s also great for exposure? Contests!
PS: Anywhere you digitally buy music from OK Go, DRM is attached. Just like most other artists. Though, some artists do provide DRM-free downloads of their music from their websites (OK Go not included.)
5
(Post Author)
Wow, sour grapes!
First off, let me say that I really appreciate your bravery in posting an ANONYMOUS comment with a fake email address. Way to put yourself and your opinions out there! At least I wrote the article with my name on it.
Ok, first, you’re right, most bands do want exposure, but I’m pretty sure that some bands would be less OK with having any of their music videos posted to YouTube than others (Metallica maybe?)
Many people care about their choreography. I was just talking to a friend who is doing a study of dance for a final project, and they were telling me all about the many bits of choreography that you are not allowed to perform at all because they are copyrighted and zealously defended.
“When people do creative crap like this on youtube it always catches on.” That statement is just patently false. I could show you a ton of creative videos on YouTube that have never caught on with a wide audience. I’m not saying that the attitudes of bands that don’t want their music to be widely heard by an UNPAYING audience make sense, but there are many bands that think that way.
You’re also right that OK Go does not control their distribution methods, so their music is sold with DRM through certain channels. However, they don’t actively promote DRM themselves (again, Metallica) and from this contest they clearly don’t care about the unpaying public enjoying their music, which is great! More publicity for them! You would think that all bands think that way, but they don’t.
Finally, I’m not trying to say that OK Go is the ONLY band or group out there that’s doing things like this. I was just giving an example of one such band.
Anyway, I assume that you’ll never read this reply since you’ve made your cowardly jab at an article you didn’t like and moved on. However, hopefully karma will deliver my reply in a more subtle form. Have a nice day.
6
hahahahaha, let me first say that I apologize for how bitter my comment sounds, it was mainly unintentional…I use a lot of sarcasm when I write and it usually sounds pretty bad (like that.) It was just meant to be criticism, and nothing more. What’s that use of an idea if there is no opposition?
Secondly, please don’t make any mention of my “bravery”. Believe me, giving you my first name and email address is useless in you identifying who I am; and I feel like requiring that I give you my personal email address is silly. I don’t give away information like that to strangers…one of the first things I learned in life! I don’t, however, mind throwing my 2c.
Most bands would love for their music video to be popular on youtube. You cannot download videos from youtube (easily, or legally), and having your video seen by millions does nothing to hurt your career! Remember, bands sell music via CD’s, MP3’s, etc., and advertise via music videos and concerts. You have never heard of Metallica going nuts over a video of theirs on youtube (in fact, there are 19,600 Metallica videos on youtube!) What Metallica and other artists get angry about is the illegal download of their music. I guarantee they don’t give a damn about DRM, rather they just want their portion of the 99c that they deserve for each song that people download (into their possession). Artists have NEVER been paid for their music videos, rather they have always been paying to make them and to have people see them. youtube is nothing more than free advertisement. Just because I see their video on youtube does not mean I own it without having paid for it.
Regarding the choreography thing.. I’m not saying that I’m naïve to the fact that people copyright and protect their choreography, but I am saying that something like OK Go’s choreography rarely applies to this sort of high protection. I’m pretty sure you got my point that you can go around youtube and find most popular dances being portrayed by random people who are not (gasp!) the “rightful owners”.
Now, allow me to modify this phrase: “When people do creative crap like this on youtube it always catches on.” For some reason, you failed to see what I meant, and I’m assuming it was not specific enough for you! So here it goes again: When people (especially people beginning with a fanbase of hundreds of thousands of people) do creative crap like this on youtube it always catches on. I’ll revise it even more at your request
Lets analyze you now! “they clearly don’t care about the unpaying public enjoying their music” I guarantee that they do care about this! Why? They need money to continue making music! They want everyone who owns their music to have purchased it (like most other artists). Otherwise, their music would be available for *FREE* via their website, or any site promoted by them. When you can direct me to an OK Go promoted site where I can download a digital (DRM free, of course) copy of their albums to my computer, and burn them to CD’s myself *for free,* your statement will be completely true (in my f’d up head, at least).
Looks like I’ve already proved you wrong, and read your reply (so I guess karma can take the day off?). Again, I can assure that neither my name nor email address is what defines who I am, but it’s my thoughts and ideas– All of which I presented in an honest (and admittedly rude) manner.
My comment was not meant to be a jab, but instead some disagreement and discussion! And again, I apologize for it coming off so rude, I assure you that it’s just they way I write.
I’d love to continue this discussion, so feel free to post your rebuttal! I frequent your blog and honestly to appreciate your ideas (whether I disagree or not)! I guarantee I will see what you have to say in response.
Also, I hope you have a pleasant day, and wish no ill will upon you
7
(Post Author)
Hey “Pretty Bad.” Well good, it’s nice to see that you’re not a total crazy. I will agree with you that your writing style sounds pretty rude. That combined with not giving your name/site set off my “anonymous rant ‘n run” sensor. Sorry.
That having been said, it’s generally good manners on blogs (as I understand them) to leave your name (just first is fine) and website so that people can see who you are. It’s a sign of trust and that you’re not some crazy who’s coming just to argue and throw flames. It also allows people to go read things that you’ve wrote and see more of your ideas, which WILL further define who you are. No, me having just your first name doesn’t help me identify you, but it does let me converse with a real human instead of just a taunt line. I could care less about your email, by all means, put in something fake. It’s a default Wordpress thing and I didn’t change it way back when I made the site. Sorry.
I guess that most bands like free publicity, but I’ll have to disagree with you that YouTube represents a “secure” form of distribution. People can go and watch the movie as many times as they want. Additionally, if I search for “download youtube video”, i get this as my second result, which suggests that it’s not that hard. And, if all else fails, there’s always the good ol’ “analog hole” to help me out.
Also, I totally disagree with you that bands don’t care about DRM. Some bands hate it (I believe Switchfoot requested that they have the DRM removed from their album after Sony’s screwup.) But then Metallica and Napster pretty much brought about the entire DRM age.
Also, you’re right that all bands should care if nobody is paying to obtain their music legally. However, it’s also true that many bands (or maybe just the music industry) cares far too much about missing out on collecting every last cent they can. Giving certain songs away on your website and similar practices are great examples of how you can give away a little and get back a lot, which is what a lot of the bigger bands don’t understand, IMO.
You’re also right that it’s not surprising that OK Go’s video and contest became popular, given their initial fanbase. However, I submit to you that (a) OK Go’s fanbase was probably less than 1/4 the size of what it is now before they released that video/contest and (b) by “revising” your statement by adding that stipulation, you’ve significantly changed (narrowed) the meaning. Now it’s true, but it wasn’t before.
Finally, I know that OK Go and many other groups (Napoleon Dynamite, etc.) don’t care about enforcing copyright on their choreography, but my point is, they COULD. They could be that stupid. But in an age of stupidity, they chose not to be, and I was merely applauding that.
Whew. Don’t get me wrong, I love disagreement and discussion. It’s just hard to tell who’s real and who’s a big fat jerk online at first glance.
Also, at the very least, you have to admit that some of these fan videos are pretty amazing. Doing the dance blindfolded?!? That’s some serious fandom.
8
Wow.. I left a name. Don’t want to portray any bad manners! Though, I don’t have my own website.. maybe someday when I can find the time. So, looks like for now you’ll have to define me by everything you see here (damn).
Yeah, there are a few means of downloading YouTube videos onto your hard drive. That being said, they all download the videos to the .flv format, which is not the best. Further, it takes a lot to get these files into a format that is usable on any device that you can carry around with you. The quality is far from stellar, and it would be useless to extract the audio from the file to gain a (terrible sounding) mp3.
Thus, while it is possible to copy the YouTube content to your hard drive, I guarantee that the average Joe couldn’t do anything with it.. except watch it with an flv player on their PC (which I would equate as the same thing as going to YouTube, plus a lot of effort).
Concerning “I’ll have to disagree with you that YouTube represents a “secure” form of distribution.” I never said YT was a secure form of distribution by ANY means, and I think that this is protrayed through the line “You cannot download videos from youtube (easily, or legally)”. I clearly say that it can be done (but, only with the effort described above). I’m also aware that people can watch movies and TV shows on YT, and I never made any mention of this being legal (or ethical for that matter). TV shows and movies make their profit exclusively on people watching them legally (on TV with ads, or in theaters for a price); whereas music artists make profit on concerts, CD sales, and gear. They advertise through videos, so YouTube is just free advertisement for them. (ie: they don’t lose money, while TV programs and movies do)!
I don’t think it’s necessarily a matter of big bands not wanting to “give away a little and get back a lot”, rather they know they will get a lot back regardless! The smaller bands need to give a little away just to be heard. For example, Dashboard Confessional used to have about 10(ish) free music downloads, and 4(ish) free video downloads from their website (no DRM). Additionally, they linked to a site containing free downloads of most DBC concerts. Since their last album release, however, there is no link and there are no downloads. Why? In my opinion its because they don’t need to! They have gained enough popularity that they don’t need to give anything away!
I challenge you to explain to me how this contest has increased OK Go’s fanbase by 4x (with a little proof, of course ;)). I would agree that the video has certainly increased their fanbase (as well as the song, and the entire new album from a little over a year ago), but the contest absolutely did not increase anything significantly! Only the OK Go die-hards knew about the contest- not the people who like the song/video, and consequently the band.
Anyways, I understand why you were very defensive in your response to my comment. I tend to take sarcasm a little (/way) overboard sometimes.
And, finally, I agree- some fan videos are great! That’s why YT is such an awesome site- it gives creative people the opportunity to convey their work to the world!
9
(Post Author)
I don’t think that participation in the actual contest resulted in 4x more fans for OK Go. You’re right, only die-hard fans would have taken the time to get videos together. But the contest meant that MORE die-hard fans made videos and put them on YouTube. As a result, YouTube had a high number of the dance imitation videos. I’m hypothesizing that this is where the non-fans come in. They were more likely to see an OK Go imitation video and become interested in the band, and that’s where the new fans would have come from. Unfortunately, I have no real way to prove this since I have no data.
10
uhm, actually i have seen LOTS of youtube videos (band official videos or imitations) removed. some say they were removed cause the record companies ask, some just say “no longer available”.
but anyway, it makes you wonder whether they all just want exposure by any means or they’re greedy suckers who want to set their own specific rules. all the time.
11
Hey! So you know that video you presumably made of both OK Vids side by side? well, you can use youtubedoubler.com do it for you
(nice post by the way)