Recently, I met with some interesting folks in the clearances department to learn about what they do and how they can apply Klickable video to make their work easier.  Did you know that every brand, every logo, every piece of art in the background needs to get cleared (i.e. OK'd to appear) in every movie, commercial and TV show that you've ever seen?  Every brand needs to give explicit permission to that content owner for their logo / item / brand to appear in the video.  Some brands pay (BMW in Bond paid a premium undisclosed sum) while others do not (Fedex  was said to receive free product placement in Cast Away). 

This same concept now applies to music.  Certain songs that are not cleared in a YouTube video will now be muted.  Music video mashups, Guitar Hero exploits, bodybuilding routines, embarrassing late night karaoke songs and other videos using popular music will now be watched (or not) with the volume on mute.  Not only will the song be muted but so will the other sounds included in the video.   Music is expensive.  Napoleon Dynamite was made for about $400,000.  After clearances, its total cost nearly doubled.  Yes, music and sound is very important and expensive.  We all notice bad sound, while bad picture (Blair Witch and Cloverfield) can be baked into the story. 

So what will happen to user generated content?  We know that sound plays for a big part in any emersive experience.  Will the labels start allowing ala cart pricing for using one of their songs in a video?  25 cents to clear a song?  Do you pay more if the video goes viral, even though you aren't making anything?  Or is music (i.e. information) supposed to be free as Chris Anderson mentioned in his article Free.
Isn't music an entree into a way of life?  If so, how do we share our great experiences while singing Whitesnake in a random karaoke bar in K-town late night?  Will there be the same effect on mute?  Will the labels understand that YOU singing the song makes other people want to sing it, some people want to buy it on iTunes, and others play it on Guitar Hero (which all lead to a licensing fee)?  Isn't the point of the digital revolution the ability to categorize your best memories?  No one ever said that they'd have to relive those moments in mute did they? 

But wait!  Didn't we just say that MY non muted video of having fun with Whitesnake makes people want to have the same experience, which in turn leads to more licensing fees for the label?  
Who owes who here?  Should the social media maven be paying the artist or should it be the other way around as this is a form of promotion?

TV didn't kill the film business, the radio didn't kill music, and the Internet will not kill user generated content / social media.  It's not going away and the more that we try and protect and build these walls the more that it will rebel.  We'll need to find new ways to adapt business models and whether that means that the content owner pays the artist or vice versa, muting won't solve anything.  So don't be scared, we have to try anything and everything!