No More Free YouTube?

The Web is nothing if not democratic, offering open access to and dissemination of all manner of information, usually paid for with nothing but eyeballs on ads. YouTube has been a stunning success in this regard, bringing us such beloved clips as “David After Dentist,” or “Creed Shreds,” or of course, “the Christian Bale Rant Remix,” which we recommend you don’t watch at work or around children.

But now, a new program by owner Google Inc. is testing the concept of letting content creators choose whether or not they want to charge viewers to watch. Presumably YouTube would take a cut, but any revenue share plans were not disclosed.

Users who pay up get to download their own copy of the video as a consolation prize.

The news plays into a number of themes. For one, there is beginning to be a backlash against free media online. Two, corporate content providers that have blocked their content from appearing on YouTube can now come into the fold and set their own licensing terms. And three, YouTube might have been responsible for close to 4 billion online video views in December 2008 alone, but it’s struggled with monetization nonetheless. This might help.

Of course it could be that the majority of the amateur, home video-type content providers will decide to keep things free, going for exposure and YouTube glory rather than the bucks.

Product Manager Thai Tran said this in the YouTube blog: "Many video creators on YouTube want their work to be seen far and wide. They don't mind sharing their work, provided that they get the proper credit. Using Creative Commons licenses, we're giving our partners and community more choices to make that happen."

Yes, but will we still be able to watch Chad Vader, brother of Darth, with as much impunity?