Blink 182 embrace ‘pirates’ in new video

11 August 2011

by Eamonn Forde

Rather than issue endless takedown notices and lawsuits, Blink 182 have welcomed YouTube ‘pirates’ with open arms and are using their clips in the promo for new single, Up All Night.

The video, which is sponsored by US telco AT&T, is made up of a montage of fan-create clips that have used their (unlicensed) music.

Against a backdrop of over 200,000 people in the US now having been sued for illegal downloading from BitTorrent, the move by Blink 182 shows that a progressive attitude to a perceived problem with online copyright can actually be embraced, turned on its head and result in a band previously known for their retro pop-punk suddenly becoming pioneers.

The band sourced a variety of clips online and wove them together to create a promo video that cost them little more than editing time – a neat spin on the culture of free that permeates the web and many fans’ attitudes towards digital music.

The Financial Times described the video as “a charming mix of rambunctious teenagers imitating the band’s previous videos, skateboarding movies and animation”. It does all this with a knowing wink, with a title board at the start declaring it “the Blink 182 Film Festival you didn’t know you entered”.

Some have picked holes in the fact that the video is in association with AT&T and not quite in the spirit of the ‘rule-breaking’ on display by both fans and the band. But that should not detract from the fact that Blink 182 have sent out a message as regards how they view their fans (who are using their music in videos precisely because they are fans) and hopefully set an example for others to follow.

In sharp contrast to this, Kings Of Leon’s management has been playing an enormous, infinite game of whack-a-mole trying to pull fan-shot content from YouTube of the band’s problem-riddled recently show in Texas.

A decade ago, Metallica threw their hat into the ring and attacked both Napster (in its illegal incarnation) and Napster users, a course of action they are still feeling the aftershocks of. And at the start of this month, global label trade body IFPI appointed classical star Placido Domingo as its new chairman and during the press conference he attacked online piracy but admitted he had never heard of Radiohead or how they released In Rainbows.

On their YouTube clip, Blink 182 wrote, “AT&T helped us search YouTube for every instance of fans using our music… without our permission… and rewarded them for it… Thanks for being a fan.”

This, more than heavy-handed legal tactics or pontificating about the damage of online piracy without understanding the wider picture, is the approach that will connect most with fans and not paint the band as the bad guys. It also sets the piracy debate in a public context without being inflammatory.

How ironic that it took adult men in baseball caps and oversized shorts to be the grown-ups here.