A heck of a lot cheaper than PPV
When Meerkat and Periscope burst onto the scene, an old battle soon reared its head: copyright infringement.
For those of you who have been living under a rock, these apps are equivalent to television production studios in the palm of your hand. Yes, these apps are that important.
However, with the ability to produce live streaming content comes issues. The companies have been pretty good about keeping things like porn off the airwaves, but copyright infringements abound. In the short time they have been around, I have watched major concerts live, HBO’s Game of Thrones (albeit with someone commenting in the background) and yes, the highly anticipated, much hyped, but ultimate letdown that was the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao bout. (right)
Periscope had hundreds of streams showing the fight live. It seemed that the company was shutting them down initially but by the time the fight started the streams were outnumbering the efforts to shut them down.
So what does this mean? I see a few likely outcomes:
- The entertainment industry bans together and takes this power back out of the hands of the people through lawsuits (15-year olds sued for millions) and legislation (with our electorate for sale, they can slide some money that direction.)
- Just as was the case with podcasting, the increased reach to new audiences will likely be beneficial to copyright holders (especially the smaller bands, films, events etc.)
- Ultimately, this is a Pandora’s box that will have a great effect on broadcast media in the future.
What you should do?
Get the apps – this is a really important movement and you should at least be aware of whats happening (even if you don’t feel the need to participate or grab some market share.)
Meerkat
iPhone – Meerkat – Live Stream Video
iPad – Meerkat – Live Stream Video
Android – Meerkat – Live Stream Video
Periscope
iPhone – Periscope – Twitter, Inc.
There are a ton of creative people already jumping in with both feet who are producing a wide range of “shows” (I use that term very loosely. I have seen people cooking breakfast, walking their dogs, playing truth or dare, answering business questions, showing ‘behind the scenes’ access to events/businesses, ranting about whatever inspires them, creating live interactive game shows – you name it.
Think of the early wild-west days of YouTube and add in the ability to interact live with your audience and you have the live-streaming scene.
What are your thoughts? Do you see the copyright issue as a big deal or nothing? What uses do you see for streaming live? Will you?
by Chris Doelle
Fresh Media Works * 713-269-4620
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