p2pnet news | TV:- Britney Spears blew her MTV Video Music Awards performance, it seems.

“But you want proof” and naturally, “you consult YouTube,” blogs Farhad Manjoo. “And hey, look, someone’s uploaded it.”

You know what’s coming next: here today, gone tomorrow.
This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Viacom International Inc

So Google for a Spears vma video and, “Of the top 10 links that come up, there are a couple of Spears fan sites and several blog and news reports panning the performance, but no links to the video,” says the post, continuing:

But wait. Look to the right side of the page in the “sponsored link” section – yes, that section you never look at. Right there is a link to MTV. The tag says “Watch Clips From Brit’s VMA Performance – Only on MTV.com!” Click it and you get to this site, MTV’s Buzzworthy blog, which – aha! – includes the VMA video. Finally.

But there’s a lot more here than just the VMA video. The Buzzworthy blog also includes an embarrassing pro-Britney rant. Excerpt: “She opened the show with her new song, ‘Gimme More,’ while showing off a healthy bod in a bedazzled bikini. Aw yeah! We knew our girl would pull it off … We know you’re screaming gimme more, more, more Brit right about now … and we’re right there with ya’ll!”

But , “Who cares if we can’t find Britney Spears’ lousy performance online?” – wonders Manjoo before getting down to the crunch, namely:

Viacom had a hot property on its hands, a video that could have easily garnered a few hundred thousand, if not a million, views on YouTube. Britney Spears messing up at the VMAs was like Lauren Caitlin Upton messing up at the Miss Teen USA pageant – a flub that could have echoed for days around blogs and news sites, giving MTV loads of bloggy views to its videos.

Viacom could have profited from the deal, too. Not long ago, Google unveiled a plan to place commercials in videos that big media companies upload to YouTube. Google pays the media firms half of the revenues it generates from the ads.

In other words, Google would have paid Viacom for letting the VMA video go to YouTube. Instead, in order to keep the video on its own site, Viacom ran an ad on Google pointing to MTV.

Let me say that again: In pursuit of complete control of its content, Viacom would rather pay Google than take Google’s money.

And, “Viacom shareholders, are you listening to this?” – asks Manjoo, adding:

But hey, if Viacom wants to pay Google, let’s make sure it does. So here’s my advice to anyone wanting to watch the Britney VMA video. Instead of clicking directly on the Buzzworthy link from above, do a Google search for “britney spears VMA video,” and then click the MTV ad. When you do that, cash will flow out of Viacom’s pocket – and maybe at some point, when enough spills out, Viacom will come to see that its copyright policy is as wrongheaded as Britney’s decision to cavort with Mr. PopoZão.”

But wait! Before you go, you still haven’t seen Ms Spears in action (or inaction ).

Manjo had included the source code of the Buzzworthy page but Lo! All of a sudden it wouldn’t work.

No worries, though, because you can still watch the video over at Overdrive …

… unless you happen to be in Canada, in which case all you get is the copyright warning pictured on the right.

(Thanks, Robert)

.Slashdot it!

Also See:
Britney Spears blew – Britney Spears unawesome on MTV, September 12, 2007
Farhad Manjoo – Finding the Britney Spears VMA video online, September 11, 2007

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