by Search Copywriter
D. Warburton
D. Warburton
Google is seeking to convince copyright holders to make advertising revenue when users upload their content to YouTube, rather than removing it from the video sharing site for copyright reasons.Three years after acquiring YouTube for $1.65 billion, Google is still failing to turn a profit, though according to The Guardian, analysts believe that the ContentID system may provide the solution. First introduced two years ago, the content fingerprinting technology enables rights holders to identify their content when uploaded by users, even when that content has been adapted or spoofed.
All content uploaded to YouTube - approximately 20 hours worth every minute - is compared against around 100,000 hours of reference material to identify possible copyright issues. When such an overlap is identified, YouTube alerts the rights holders, giving them the choice of either blocking the video or introducing advertising alongside the content, allowing both the rights holder and YouTube to generate revenue.
A recent example of the success of the ContentID technology is the British television series Mr Bean, which has thus far allowed the producers Tiger Aspect to identify and monetise up to 5,000 uploads of their content from users. The technology has also provided insights into the series' popularity in other nations, particularly Saudi Arabia, allowing the company to negotiate broadcasts and DVD sales.
CEO of MyVideoRights, Ashley MacKenzie, explains: "Up until two years ago Mr Bean and Tiger Aspect couldn't have done anything. Now we can go into this system and claim back content."
Google is still struggling to sell online advertising on YouTube, with the site reportedly costing the company at least $175 million each year. ContentID may be the way forward in enabling Google to turn a profit from the video sharing site, but there is still some way to go, with YouTube revealing that only one billion of the seven billion videos uploaded each week is currently monetised, of which only one third is making money through the fingerprinting system.
