New OK Go Video to Allow Embeds

It's not a particularly great time to be in the music business. Actually, it's not a particularly safe time to be in the music business. Music labels are in terrible shape and online services centered around music have a hard time surviving, let alone becoming profitable. It's easy to see why the old media is afraid of change and why it sometimes makes some rather strange decisions like the recent debacle concerning rock band OK Go and video embeds, which seems to have come to a good, if not perfect, conclusion.

Most labels are skidish about having their music online and videos are no different. Despite traditionally used as a promotional tool, music videos have now become content to be sold just like the songs themselves. It's not the users themselves that pay for the videos but rather the advertisers on places like YouTube or the recently launched Vevo. In this light, disabling embeds for their videos makes sense for the labels, they don't make any money from having their videos on who knows what site or blog.

But video embeds help spread the word about a song or band and, even if they don't make any money themselves, they pay off in song sales, concert tickets, merchandise and everything else. One great example of this is precisely the band OK Go, which got mainstream recognition and success after their self-made video for the song “Here it Goes Again.” It is one of the most popular viral videos of all time. And the video was made with their own money and then put on YouTube without their label's (EMI) permission.

Having the song and the video on YouTube has helped make EMI a lot of money indirectly, so you'd think that they would learn from this or even try to exploit it in the future. But no, all of the band's current videos can't be embedded on other sites including the latest one for the song “This Too Shall Pass” from their new album.

This leads to quite a bit of controversy and a lot of people talking about it. The band itself wasn't happy about it and even made the video available on Vimeo, complete with embed codes, in 'defiance' of EMI’s stance. Later, lead singer Damian Kulash even wrote an op-ed in the New York Times about it. Now, finally, the whole thing has been resolved though it may not be exactly what everyone had in mind.

A new video for the song has been made and it will debut later today. When it does, it will be available for embedding but not because EMI 'has seen the light,' unfortunately. The band has managed to get sponsorship from insurance company State Farm so EMI will allow embeds. Now, this is great for the fans as they'll be able to share the video, which is what they wanted in the first place, but it doesn't help with the bigger issue that embedded videos shouldn't have to be paid for. After all, it's not websites that pay advertisers to run their ads, which, in the end, is what a music video is, an ad for the band and their music. In any case, check out the band's website at 4:00 p.m. PST for the premiere of the new video.