MTV Launches MTVMusic.com

MTV has just launched MTVMusic.com, where they offer over 16,000 music videos a la YouTube, but with fewer notices and DMCA takedowns. This, however, is offset by the six separate agreements and privacy statements that must be accepted. Thankfully, at the time of writing the MTV Music website was making this process easier, by having you click off only a single checkbox. With Firefox as your browser, even that’s automated, as it will check the accept box whenever any agreement is viewed.

Here is “Viva Mozilla!” from Rick Astley … not really, but “Never Gonna Give You Up” is close enough for MTV fans.




They also have a set of APIs and development tools that allow you to incorporate their content into your own creations.

Primarily designed for web developers, application builders, and mash-up makers, there's a lot you can do with the MTV Networks Content API. Here are a few sample projects:

• Build a music video gallery of MTV, VH1, CMT or LOGO artists.
• Create an application to send music video dedications to friends on Facebook, MySpace, Flux or just about any other social network.
• Mine our expansive music video archive to create the music application of your dreams.
• Fashion a WordPress plug-in to dynamically pull music videos into blog posts.

Let’s see what you can come up with!

Cybercast credit: MTVMusic

"Daily Show," Other MTV Channels to Get Their Own Sites

Web sites for "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and two dozen other brands that fall under the MTV Networks umbrella are being prepared for a first-quarter 2008 launch, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

"The Daily Show" site, for example, which actually launches in the fourth quarter, will contain the entire video history of each show, including headlines, interviews and the "Back in Black" feature. Episodes will be available in their entirety an hour or two after broadcast.

Other shows receiving their own sites include Comedy Central's "The Sarah Silverman Program," MTV's "Engaged and Underage" and Nickelodeon's "iCarly." No mention was made of the "The Colbert Report." The company is also launching a game site for teenage girls, a wiki site for video game cheats called Wiki Cheats and niche-oriented sites for everything from hip-hop dance to gay-focused animation.

VH1EyeCandy.com, a pop culture site, will also get a full launch.

MTV's idea is to turn its popular brands into Web destinations by pushing content, games, promotions, TV schedules and forums on their sites for user feedback. Will this long-tail approach work? It seems they want to grow some of the newer content destinations virally, while letting the TV shows' popularity help them along.

Cybercast credit: VH1

MyDamnChannel Is Damned SLOWWW!!!

This is a new site launched by Rob Barnett, former MTV executive, with the aim to provide a place for PROFESSIONAL content creators to promote their work with their own channel.



Artists on the site seem to have been hand-picked. In this sense they are like a video distributor of sorts, providing a platform for artists distribute and monetize their content.

If you register and are accepted, revenue will be split 50-50 with you. To spread the word and works, your videos can be embedded in other sites, such as MySpace TV, Hi5 and Piczo.

Granted, there is no shortage of similar sites:

Funny or Die

RoofTop Comedy

NOT on MY ROOFTOP, kids, punks, and assorted weirdoos!!!

Black20 News, on the other hand, rocks!





and National Banana, just to mention the ones that are better known at the moment....

Professional???? - how about streaming the title frame for 20 minutes?

Cybercast "credit:" MyDamnChannel

Viacom Demands That YouTube Yank 100,000 Clips

Comedy Central's and MTV's daddy, the mighty Viacom henceforth demands that your favorite Tube yank all of its video clips, after negotiations failed. About 100,000 video clips are to be erased from You Know Who Google Tube's servers.

Viacom says its pirated programs on YouTube generate about 1.2 billion video streams. You read it right - we talk BILLIONS here. But don't you think that's the reason for Viacom to be so PISSED OFF. NOoooo Sireee! What they are REALLY ticked off about is the irreverence some YouTubers display - literally - by mocking their fabled logo. See for yourself - here is the "Viacom V of Doom" from just one of the MANY offenders, Doom (811 Productions):


You'd be steamed up about a sacrilege like that at your corporate logo, wouldn't you?

To be fair, YouTube has not been without controversy, as clips from copyright protected TV programs, shows, and other legally protected media have made their way onto their site. That, however, didn't seem to bother other major media companies, such as CBS and Universal Music Group. They went ahead and struck distribution agreements with YouTube prior to its love-in with Google. Go figure....

P.S. Didn't take long for Google, after having come into existence only nine years ago in 1998, to be slapped with a billion dollar suit too ... by Viacom, of course!