A couple of week’s ago Charlie Brooker wrote about the fun madness that is Bedroom TV – a channel where members of the public video themselves lip-syncing to pop songs.
Fast forward a week or so, and we put together a leaving video for a much loved colleague who was departing after more than ten years. You can see the result here:
Anyway, suddenly putting it Bedroom TV seemed like a fun idea.
Now there are a couple of issues – I didn’t ask permission of everybody for putting the video into the public domain. I don’t suppose anyone would mind, but it was there.
Yet the pull of seeing the video on TV – albeit a channel high in the 300s on Sky – but then I read the terms and conditions for submitting videos. Here’s an extract, with my emphasis on a few points:
2. You give us all consents necessary for us to edit, produce and broadcast your image, voice and likeness in any manner we see fit for the purposes of creating the Programme and to use and exploit the Footage for any purpose/action whatsoever that Bedroom TV wants, throughout the world and in all media (whether now in existence or developed in the future), forever. You agree that we will be the sole owner of the worldwide copyright and all other rights/interests in the Footage and you waive any rights/interest that you may have in the Footage. Where any rights vest in you, you irreversibly transfer (by way of current or future transfer) such rights to us absolutely, worldwide and in all media (whether now in existence or developed in the future), forever.
3. We will be entitled to sub-license, transfer or assign our rights hereunder to any successor, subsidiary, affiliate and/or any person acquiring all or substantially all of Bedroom TV’s assets, provided that Bedroom TV remains responsible for its obligations in this letter, where such assignee/transferee is not responsible. This release shall be binding on you, your heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns.
So in other words if I were to upload this to Bedroom TV I’m giving up any rights I might have in it forever more!
Even for a pointless leaving video, that sounds like an extreme state of affairs, and there’s no way I could agree to that. I couldn’t take the video back or delete it; I’d have no chance to ever prosper from it (not that I’d want to given the soundtrack isn’t entirely, erm, original).
My advice to teenagers of all ages with video cameras and camera phones is to not upload your productions to this TV channel. Surely now we’re in an age where we don’t just give our rights to products away – we’re in an age where YouTube will share ad revenue with video creators, always assuming those videos aren’t made up of clips from last night’s Dancing on Ice or whatever.