This was posted on Phantasy Tour this morning at 10:50am EST. I am simply copying the message here for those who don't frequent PT regularly.
As many of you have already heard, my YouTube account has been terminated after receiving copyright strikes #2 and #3 on back to back days, coming down from none other than Phish Inc. (The first one came from Prince 4 months ago for Phish's cover of Purple Rain that I had up.)
First off, I just want to say that I'm incredibly humbled by the amount of support I've received since this happened. The amount of tweets, messages, and posts has been overwhelming. There's no way I can respond to every single one, but that's why I'm typing this. I'm extremely grateful for all the kind words, so thank you. I can't possibly express how much it's helped me so far.
In a word, I'm devastated. I understand that having a YouTube account terminated probably doesn't seem like it should be towards the top of anyone's worry list, but this is a very big deal for me. And judging by the amount of people who have reached out to me and offered their support, I think a lot of you know that as well. What may only look like videos on the internet from the outside actually has a whole lot of heart and soul backing it, not to mention time. This thing has come a long way in the past 4+ years, and there were so many people who enjoyed it - bands and fans alike.
This was always a possibility, but not one that ever seemed like it could become a reality. No matter how innocent it may seem, when you're posting content that you don't own (music written/performed by others) on the internet, it's a slippery slope. Add that to the fact that Phish doesn't "allow" video recording at their shows, and here we are.
I just wish there was a more personal aspect to it. Or maybe I don't. I don't know. We can speculate all day as to why I was shut down. But none of us know for sure, even though there are plenty of people talking like they do. They don't, and everything is pure speculation at this point. I was never contacted by anyone from Phish about anything - everything is done through automated YouTube contact - videos get removed, and it's 3 strikes you're out, and I got 3 strikes. With the 2 from Phish, I can only assume that they don't want me to continue doing what I'm doing. A warning would have been nice. I would have gladly stopped uploading Phish videos or removed videos if I was asked to do so, in order to save the archive that I built. But I suppose that's a lot to ask for someone who is knowingly "breaking the rules".
It's just weird that this happened all of a sudden, after over 4 years of posting Phish videos. I always felt "ok" with what I did because I'd never gotten any negative feedback from them, and also heard Chris Kuroda say that he and the band watch their videos on YouTube all the time (which is why I assumed they knew about me).
What I feel worst about right now is all of the other bands who had videos on my channel. A lot of bands got great exposure, and a lot of people often contacted me and thanked me for turning them onto a band that they probably wouldn't have ever heard otherwise. I have always loved capturing, archiving, and most of all, sharing live music. Making other people happy brings me great joy, and it's the #1 reason why I do what I do.
I am not done. This will be a rebuilding phase for me, and that has already started. My first priority is to get all of the videos from bands other than Phish that I had on my channel uploaded again.
*PLEASE* subscribe to my new channel here: http://www.youtube.com/mkdev0
When it was terminated, my channel had over 12,000 subscribers. If I can get back to 1/3 of that, I would be thrilled. Please subscribe and spread the word for others to do so as well.
As for the Phish, I've got a lot to think about. That's all.
I've seen a bunch of people talking about making/selling mkdevo shirts. Please don't. I have NEVER tried to cash in on this band, and would very much appreciate if people wouldn't try and cash in on me. I appreciate the support, but please don't do this.
Another thing some people seem to be very misinformed about: I have never made a dime off of YouTube videos. Zero. Zilch. Nothing. The fact is that it would be impossible for me to do so, because I don't own the content. The songwriters/performers are the ones who own the content. When I upload a video that has, say, a Phish song in it, YouTube detects that immediately. And when this happens, the video is not eligible to be monetized. Period.
Again, to everyone who has offered up their support, I thank you. I do not want to know what I would have been feeling like without it. It's been a huge help.
This is really all I have to say about the matter right now, so I most likely won't be responding to individual questions/comments. I need to keep going.
See you tonight at PNC.- mkdevo
