Pros and Cons of Reaction Videos
I made a throwaway quip yesterday on social media about reaction videos on YouTube. I was specifically complaining about those made about music videos and how there is a growing trend among “content creators” to mute the audio and obscure the video of the very material they are reacting to. This is due to concerns over a copyright strike by the rights holders of the original content and the threat of potential demonetisation to those making the reaction video. What you are left with is 5 minutes of a rather tiresome, charisma vacuum watching a blurred video while listening to “elevator music”. What a world we live in. Why even bother posting such content? If there is any value to be found in reaction videos, then surely it lies in the shared experience of both the person in the video reacting and their viewers?
I made a throwaway quip yesterday on social media about reaction videos on YouTube. I was specifically complaining about those made about music videos and how there is a growing trend among “content creators” to mute the audio and obscure the video of the very material they are reacting to. This is due to concerns over a copyright strike by the rights holders of the original content and the threat of potential demonetisation to those making the reaction video. What you are left with is 5 minutes of a rather tiresome, charisma vacuum watching a blurred video while listening to “elevator music”. What a world we live in. Why even bother posting such content? If there is any value to be found in reaction videos, then surely it lies in the shared experience of both the person in the video reacting and their viewers?
I have often wondered about what is the official YouTube policy on reaction videos because it does seem to be a very broad category of video in my estimation. Some research has established that YouTube does explicitly allows reaction videos and even lists “reaction videos where you comment on the original video” as an example of reused material that can still qualify for monetisation. The important word is “comment”. YouTube wants the reaction itself to add substantial original value rather than simply showing someone watching somebody else’s work and interjecting “wow” or “this sucks”. Hence you can have a channel that critiques films, which shows brief scenes and then discusses direction, acting, editing, historical context and so forth. However, it can also result in music reaction videos in which the creator does the bare minimum to stay within the YouTube rules.
Despite the regulations as they currently stand, copyright strikes can still be issued by the rights holders, depending on their own policy of what they will and won’t tolerate. Hence there seems to be a random element of risk to all YouTube channels both big and small that produce this kind of content. This has led to the ludicrous situation I initially described. I watched several videos last night where people were reacting to the recent release of Armee der Tristen by Rammstein, taken from there upcoming Live in Mexico City album and Blu-ray release. Two videos in particular blurred the video and completely replaced the audio. They explicitly stated this is because they didn’t want to incur the risk of a copyright strike which would impact upon their monetisation. Yet they considered the final video in its current state to be suitable to be posted. Surely an act of staggering hubris or utterly tone deaf stupidity.
It is not just copyright holders that have a dubious view of reaction videos. There is a vocal lobby from both YouTube viewers and other creators on the platform that advocate that the majority of these videos are neither transformative, informative or adding any additional value to the source material. I have certainly seen sufficient of these to agree in part. Yet, conversely I have watched many that have been both informative and entertaining. Take for example the classically trained vocal coach who watches a variety of music videos from different genres and gives an honest analysis of the techniques and styles used therein. Then there is the bass guitar teachers who appraise songs recommended to him by his viewers, that are deemed to have interesting bass-lines. I subscribe to numerous channels that offer intelligent and well researched film criticism. Quality ultimately hinges on who is doing the “reacting”.
Overall I do not see the reaction video genre as a total lost cause. Like the explanation video (which often is simply a subjective interpretation rather than a definitive answer) I believe it is a subset of YouTube video that simply needs greater quality control. Unfortunately for quality control to work effectively it requires human intervention. Something that YouTube is using less and less. However, like social media, YouTube allows viewers to curate and control what appears in to your timeline. I would recommend installing the web browser extension, Control Panel for YouTube, as it offers even more personal control. Taking a broader perspective, the democratisation of any internet platform always means there will be poor quality content from the talentless and inherently stupid. It is simply part of the deal. It is incumbent upon us, the viewer, to be a discriminating as possible. As to the aspiration not to be exposed to anything “shit” it is simply an unrealistic goal.
I made a throwaway quip yesterday on social media about reaction videos on YouTube. I was specifically complaining about those made about music videos and how there is a growing trend among “content creators” to mute the audio and obscure the video of the very material they are reacting to. This is due to concerns over a copyright strike by the rights holders of the original content and the threat of potential demonetisation to those making the reaction video. What you are left with is 5 minutes of a rather tiresome, charisma vacuum watching a blurred video while listening to “elevator music”. What a world we live in. Why even bother posting such content? If there is any value to be found in reaction videos, then surely it lies in the shared experience of both the person in the video reacting and their viewers?