December 23, 2008

Phish, Others Banned from YouTube (updated video links)

Reports are that Phish videos, along with all videos from Warner Bros. artists, are being banned from YouTube because the record label and the video-sharing site, owned by Google, could not reach a content-sharing agreement. Here is the lowdown from the Wall Street Journal.

File this one under WTF???

Phish only released one "official" video, ever, which was Down with Disease.

So, we can't watch the official version of Down with Disease on YouTube anymore? Hold on ... give me one second to wipe the tears from my keyboard so I can continue.

There are, of course, thousands of other Phish videos on YouTube -- 5,280 to be exact, going by the number of search results I just got by typing Phish into the YouTube search engine. Not to mention Phish's YouTube channel, which is run by the band's own independent label JEMP Records, (stands for Jon, Ernest, Mike, Page, I believe) is still up and running.

My guess is that Warner Music Group Corp. leaked this information to the Wall Street Journal so that Phish-heads and fans of other Warner's artists, like Neil Young and Madonna, everywhere would be outraged and take out their wrath on Google by boycotting YouTube.

Fat chance.

In fact, here is a killer video of Divided Sky posted over at YouTube -- one of my favorite versions of all time. Additionally, here is a short, albeit awesome, clip of Phish peaking out on Harry Hood from the December 6, 1996 Las Vegas show -- the one where Les Claypool sat in, resulting in (in my opinion) Mike's playing improving ten-fold by the start of the U.S. leg of Summer Tour 2007, as well as his switch to Modulus basses, and is now an official release from the band. And just for kicks, here is a video on YouTube of the Phish memory of all Phish memories ... well, in my book at least ... Heavy Things from Big Cypress.

God, that was so much fun.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Worst news ever.

Where am I gonna get my Goo Goo Dolls fix now?

Seriously, it's a tad ironic that Warner pulled their tubes only two days after You Tube lanched their new "music portal" which in theory is designed to better monetize the music videos so that Google could afford the types of licensing fees Warner is asking.

Either way I think it's safe to say I won't be missing any of these videos too much.

TL
http://jamtopia.com/

Baybay Mama said...

seriously, when are we going to find out?"