–We should decry that business interests are concerned over not being able to make money over Susan Boyle’s popularity–We all know about Susan Boyle and how she became a sensation with a singing voice that did not match the judges’ expectations given what many called her frumpy appearance. In April, YouTube videos of her performances were viewed 220 million times. Her popularity continues and now the businesses involved are concerned that it is difficult for that popularity to pay off. Freemantle Media Enterprises who owns the international digital rights to Britain’s Got Talent show, uploaded clips on YouTube, a unit of Google, but the clips do not appear to generate any advertising revenues. Despite arcane financial arrangements, Ms Boyle’s continued popularity and the number of hits the clips received, very little money has been generated by any of the parties involved. The concern was deep enough that the New York Times run a story about it.
When we expect every story and every success to be quantified by its monetary value or revenue potential, it is a fact of our culture that needs to be noticed. It needs to be noticed, decried and censured lest the hope of its redress be that far more removed.
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