Hi Clip Magnet

Do you want their DVD by any chance?

Thanks for the offer Lee, but I bought that DVD pretty much as soon as it was released. Even though I have all their vids, I thought rage could have done a much better job than they did of showcasing their work to the country.

I actually emailed Cal in 2007 pleading for him to release his solo videos and offering to do the remastering for him for free. He was really appreciative of the offer and said "I really should get to this but have just been so busy with other things" and "I've actually got to find all of that material...."

He never got back to me, unfortunately. In 2012 I asked Lisa Luppi (Gangworld) to follow up with him, she reported back that he did remember the offer and would get back to me, but he never did.

The trouble of dealing with 'celebrities' directly with these things...

I've been surprised that many, if not most, artists don't keep copies of their own videos. Since creating my youtube channels, I've sent or uploaded copies of videos for a number of artists, both local and international.

And I've also emailed 2 to ask if they had copies of rare videos that exist but I've never seen before. Both responded - one said she'd send me a tape of it, but never did (luckily I found it myself through other means a few years later), and another says she has a copy of the video and will try to get it to me somehow "one day" (I assume after getting it converted herself, though I also offered to do it myself), but I've heard nothing since.

Yes that has really surprised me too - if I was an artist I would want to keep everything. Two of the bands I have approached had most of their clips on VHS but also some notable omissions which astonished me. A couple have had everything.

I've also tried approaching the video directors (if you can find out who they are - usually there is almost no public information as to who directed particular clips) and have had more success there, they seem to keep more of their output, and also know where it's stored The directors also seem to care less if you upload the videos.

One director that I dealt with urged me to upload the clips he made. His position was that keeping these VHS tapes in boxes helps no-one, as it risks losing the material forevermore. He saw making it publicly available as a public service, becoming part of the archival record.

I contacted a video director on Vimeo (he didn't have his videos on youtube) to obtain a copy of an obscure music video by a UK artist from 1988 and he willingly obliged. I then uploaded it to youtube, but credited him as the director.

Interesting that the director wanted you to upload the videos - you would think he would have the know-how to do it himself if he wanted.

I've had a mixed response from artists about their work being on youtube - most seem happy to have it there, as it's a form of promo/keeps the memory of their music alive. But I recently had a take-down notice from Kym Mazelle, or someone using her name, for a 1998 video of hers for a single that didn't chart anywhere The person issuing the strike had a gmail address, which I thought seemed a bit suss, so I messaged her on Facebook to ask if that was actually her, but have not received a response. I've got about 5 or 6 other videos of hers up, but they were released on a major label, and I guess she (if it was her) doesn't have the authority to issue a copyright notice for those.

In this particular case, yes he had the know-how to do it himself, but archiving a box of VHS tapes was not exactly high on his priority list. Directors need to earn a living, they are always working on "the next thing", and 30 year old music videos don't pay the bills. So when I offered to do it for free, it was green light city.

I seem to have avoided most of the grief that you've experienced, although the lead singer of a reasonably well known US band (if it actually was her) had a go at me for posting one of their clips "without permission". I pointed out that their record company had monetized the clip, I get nothing from it, and so they should get royalties from it in accordance with their record company contract. All that did was unleash venting over how they have been screwed by their record company. Well, I'm sympathetic and all, but in the end, not my problem.

In a couple of other instances, the band or video director has complained to me, but I immediately offered to provide whatever credits and attributions they require on the clip description, and they were placated.

I got this comment below recently, from a member of a DJ act who released a mash-up of the Tori Amos 'Professional Widow' remix with Lisa Stansfield's vocals from Coldcut's 'People Hold On' in 1997 (i.e. there was no new music added to the track, it was just mixed together), and had a UK top 5 hit with hit:


"Can you please take this down as it is not your music or video. It is in fact mine !! Thank you."

Having no idea who this person was, I had no way of knowing whether he was actually involved with the song until looking the 'group' up on discogs.com .

But like the example you've posted, the record company are monetizing this track, and it's not blocked anywhere, so they must be OK with hit. He didn't ask that nicely, so I've not obliged yet. The video has received less than 250 views in 3 months...

Oh that reminds me, I uploaded the video for an obscure dance track put together by people in a UK prison in the mid 90's (the inmates involved also appear in the video). Someone who appeared in the video went to the trouble of sending me a message on facebook 'begging' me to take the video down, as a friend who was also in the video tagged it on his Facebook timeline, and he didn't want his daughter to find out that he was once imprisoned. He didn't go into what he was put inside for, but said that he's a changed man now. I obliged... but it was something I hadn't considered being a problem when I uploaded it.