Stop the Presses

If the attorneys representing 70s new wave band The Rubinoos weren’t responsible for posting the now-removed Avril Lavigne v. The Rubinoos videos on YouTube, they should certainly thank whoever was.

Why? Because before the copyright infringement case has ever been heard by a jury or judge (in fact, the first court date isn’t until August 28) they’ve tried their case in the court of public opinion. And many would say The Rubinoos are in the lead. Before the video was removed from YouTube (due to a copyright claim by RCA Records) the 25-second video had been viewed more than 776,000 times and had garnered nearly 1900 comments from viewers.

By trying their case online before it ever hits the courtroom, The Rubinoos and their counsel are creating buzz. They’re conditioning the jury pool. And when their lawyers finally get to the litigation stage, they’ll certainly have the upper hand.

But YouTube isn’t just for the entertainment industry. When communicating your message, whether it is a case of copyright infringement, a product that doesn’t work like it should, or even a product that is potentially dangerous, don’t forget the power of images.

One video on YouTube–whether it be comparing two songs recorded 25 years apart or showing a laptop battery exploding–is infinitely more compelling than a press release describing the same situation.

To quote 70s rock icons Rush: “Show me, don’t tell me.”

This entry was posted on Monday, July 30th, 2007 at 9:07 am and is filed under Articles and Opinions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.