Warner Music could learn a lot from Monty Python. Python videos and clips have been some of the most popular items to be posted to YouTube by fans over the years. Sound familiar Warner Music? Viacom? Pay attention. Frustrated by all the “pirate” videos, Monty Python opened their own YouTube channel with high quality videos of all their stuff. In return they ask that you buy the DVD’s. The results? Monty Python videos have increased 23% since creation of the channel. It’s true, treating customers with respect and giving them an easy and fair way to purchase your products online will increase your sales. Contrary to popular belief among the old media dons, most people don’t want to steal your content. But they do want to use the new tools of the Internet to comsume and purchase. For years the music industry believed they were being ripped off because of the Internet. But look at the wild success of iTunes and you can see, given the new technologies and fair prices, people are happy to purchase content.

Congratulations to Monty Python and their fans. I hope more content producers take note of this success and start thinking differently. Please stop fighting with us. Work with us and together we can all win.

As you would expect, unless you are Warners which I guess just doesn’t know or doesn’t care, there has been a huge outcry and many videos produced in protest. Maybe I missed it, but contiually alienating and pissing off your customers is something I didn’t get in any of my college business classes. YouTube has indicated in the past that it would like to do deals with major content providors to clear up these copyright issues, but the old media dons hold out for unreasonable demands.

It continues to shock me how the music industry contiues to self mutilate itself trying to enforce it’s antiquated business model. They killed Napster and thought they had won, but it was never about Napster. It’s so much bigger than that. For better or for worse it’s a new connected world order. The old rules don’t apply. Obama just got elected President; greed is out. Again I quote Princess Leia from Star Wars addressing Governor Tarkin. “The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.”