Censored Zewizz!


Around September 2012 video website Youtube decided to remove 256 videos posted by John Zewizz on his own channel. All videos on his now defunct youtube channel were music videos, live performances, a few interviews and short documentaries directly related to his own creation, mainly Sleep Chamber, for which he obviously own all copyrights. The channel was great and had a avid followers for not only it documented the industrial music period of the 1980's with rare if not never seen before footage but also hard to find trailers, video clips and the likes.

One day John Zewizz received a a claim from youtube that Orchard Music (an audio-visual media distributor for digital, mobile outlets worldwide as well as physical retailers in North America and Europe) was the copyright owner of the part 3 of a John Zewizz phone interview on KZSU! Only the 3rd part of the interview, not the first or second questioned J. Zewizz, hinting youtube censorship police at the absurdity of such claim.

The silly stand was video filmed from Zewizz's phone who openly proposed at youtube a post back of the filmed claim as an attempt to display its absurdity and probably too the totally illegitimate censorship ways of youtube itself.

How can The Orchard media group own copyright from fractions of voice conversations shared for interviews? It's phoney indeed.
It appears obvious that youtube motives were other than defending intellectual property rights of any large media group or even an independent artist in this case.

Maybe some Sleep Chamber's videos content or John Zewizz attitude of open communication with nearly anyone commenting on his channel did annoys some 'mind' at Google (which owns youtube), if that's not the reason for this, why would they not and haven't yet at least given apology to Sir Zewizz?

In any case, their semi automated 'flag report' or 'appreciation engine' seams not to truely reflect the enthusiasm of many Sleep Chamber's fans and the googletube 'copyrighted content identification system' isn't as reliable or stable as their own passive-digit-fiat-currency-income making machine known as 'adsense' but adding sense to it, John Zewizz never claimed their 'serfice' to be 'so vine' for all purposes, he just pointed youtube back at the lack of good sense in their initial claim and defended his legit stand creatively using the technology istself they foster at any watcher. But who is 'the watcher' then?

Some may know how hilarious it can be to read, for example, a transcript (turn on 'English - automated captions') of a nonetheless interesting speech about How to use Turmeric. Funny yes but don't forget googletube also implement automated cars, with beta version of such engines you might end-up in a brothel of 'whiplashing' Barbitchuettes, while in fact you just wanted to 'google car' simply to reach 'le bord de l'eau'.

Quoting wikipedia:
"YouTube users have expressed concerns about the Orchard claiming copyright ownership of music used in user-generated content that may or may not belong to them. According to an article posted on The Daily Rind,[*] if audio is matched to a particular copyright owner via YouTube's content identification system, then one or more links will be placed under the video in order to help promote the copyright owner's music, with the video remaining available. If the claim has been made in error, The Orchard's UGC team will remove it after review."

So here is an example on how when a company (like google) attempt to automate every possible thing, including (obsolete or fostered) copyright policies and even morals (censorship, 'good manners', control, coercion,…) in the digital world.
Some independent artist would be forced in confinement while some major players by the rules (pseudo artists) would be given, if not insidiously, then blatantly hammered promotion to all possible viewers daily.
Countless appreciative individuals would also end-up split appart from the art, or its promotion, a bit like in another variant of dictatorship.
Ignorance is a 'choice'.
What could be next? Google automating pluralism? Or drawning you in it … Could be getting close.

The decades long general practice of cultural downgrading has certainly worked, one is left to witness the depth and graciousness of comments often left by youtube viewers, specially under videos which could lead to (the lost arts of) constructive debate and critical thinking.

Anyway within a few hours of John Zewizz channel's response to youtube personal accusation and his own crafty way to react to it, youtube suddenly decided to pull-off the network another video: the DVD Trailer video for the "Woman Of The SS" performance (no nudity, no political stands, no hate related to it) and apparently informed Sir Zewizz that he would have to leave the youtube network!
Good grief.
Vimeo seams much better on certain levels, in example: less neurotransmitter-disabled-adulteens could gather here.

How comes youtube specially found an already 9 month old posted video with more than 11023 views as the last resort to reason for 'ejection' of Sleep Chamber's founder from 'their' channel?

Could a software bot be more inclined to percieve the distinction between nazi garments fetishism transposed in an artistic context and an infamous paramilitary organization under the NSDAP than a human-animal censor clerk?
Was google fearing being unable to manage adsense side column suddenly displaying links to nazi regalia web-shops banned in some nations and maybe in others not? It's unlikely. May this choice of video censorship give an idea of the mindset behind the machine, once the work is not made by autopilot.

Anyway not most of interesting videos are to be found on Google video and consort youtube channel. It's also silly for such channels that they only managed to loose such quality content providers, working freely to fill-in some of their mostly crap-o-lla ridden virtual vid space but 256 'weird videos' gone is nothing of a loss for their advertisers it's assumed.

So forget about the mainstream multi-media mono-police-ation of the web, try to go for less asphyxiated channels or be fed what they choose for you to be allowed if not too challenged or just lazy.

Here is the (re)born John Zewizz Vimeo Channel

Related:
Daily Rind blogd article about YouTube copyright claims

John Zewizz appreciation society Forum postinforming his fanbase (some data might be member only)