WEIRD at NIGHT NEEDS YOU: Petition to get Ryan Bryan signed by UMG
By Patrick Galactic
Hi. I host a Twitch stream every Tuesday and Saturday night called WEIRD at NIGHT. It’s a place for those who miss the random strangeness of cable access television but also love the surreal fantasy of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, Twilight Zone, and Reading Rainbow.
It’s a gathering space for the late night disenfranchised. We make sketch comedy and have a cast of characters that essentially rebel against and torture me as the host. We share songs and performances from musicians we believe in. We share art from a variety of medias and artists across the Northwest (and beyond!) There’s a lot of real talk too because the most essential part of what we do is the fantastic people who watch and participate, the WANiverse (also referred to as the SHOWmunity). We tell the truth, even inconvenient truth. It’s a safe place for everyone. We collaborate. We celebrate. We keep it simple…ish.
THE SITUATION THIS WEEK
WEIRD at NIGHT character Ryan Bryan released a REAL single “Handjobs from Heaven” this week on Bandcamp. When we tried to post a promotional video to Facebook, it was blocked because Facebook claimed Ryan’s song, an original written for WEIRD at NIGHT, was actually owned by Univeral Music Group. It is not. But if they want it, they can HAVE it. IF they’re gonna block his videos we want YOU to DEMAND that UMG sign Ryan Bryan to a record deal.
SIGN NOW – Tell Universal Music Group to SIGN Ryan Bryan!
QUESTION: When does a joke become real and, if that joke is real, is it still funny? Well…this week on WEIRD at NIGHT we found the answer.
Meet Ryan Bryan:
THE PROBLEM: One of our fictional characters, Ryan Bryan, who bears an uncanny resemblance to me but is DEFINITELY NOT ME (wink) is an insufferable Soft Rock Revolutionary. He believes he is destined to become a widely known and celebrated pop star. He believes that Soft Rock is the “true way,” that Yacht Rock destroyed the teachings of Anne Murray, The Carpenters, Seals & Crofts. Ryan wants to lead us back to that glorious time in music history.
Listen to “Handjobs from Heaven” by Ryan Bryan on Bandcamp
In the real world, Ryan’s debut single “Handjobs from Heaven” was released on Bandcamp this past week. It’s a terrible song, obviously. But it’s funny! And, in moving the joke along, I posted a video of the track with Ryan doing a little voiceover. I wrote a little post, uploaded the video to Facebook and Instagram, and hit POST…magic, right? Yes. But dark magic. The dark magic of DRM (digital rights management) bots. Within about five minutes of making the post, I received a message from Facebook that my video was blocked in 250 countries because it had been claimed by Universal Music Group. It’s an original song written by me, Universal doesn’t own any of the elements in the video.
This is a problem I experience a lot with WEIRD at NIGHT. We share a ton of music and there are inevitably different rights associated with each artist. I’ve had videos blocked, had to re-edit and upload them again, only to have them blocked again and start the process all over. It’s not unusual. But I’ve NEVER had a bot claim that my own original music was owned by someone else.
So I filed an appeal. Should be fine, right? No. Universal has up to 30 days to review the video and decide whether they want to fight me. That means the video I uploaded will be blocked for no reason for up to 30 days. How useful will it be after 30 days?
The blocked video I tried to post on Facebook:
THE SOLUTION: We are not big enough to demand Universal’s attention. We are insects to them. So what can we do? Well…if they’re going to claim Ryan Bryan’s song, we are going to DEMAND that they sign him to a record deal. It’s ok, the bots simply recognized that Universal SHOULD own this song. So WEIRD at NIGHT is asking you to sign our Change.org petition for Universal Music Group to sign Ryan Bryan to a record deal. When does a joke become real, we asked? Right now.
SIGN NOW – Tell Universal Music Group to SIGN Ryan Bryan!
WEIRD at NIGHT is a community art share collaboration hosted by Patrick Galactic on Twitch every Tuesday and Saturday night at midnight. Follow the channel to be notified every time WEIRD at NIGHT goes live.