http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/...osoft-paying-youtubers-for-xbox-one-mentions/ This weekend, word started leaking of a new promotion offering Machinima video partners an additional $3 CPM (i.e., $3 per thousand video views) for posting videos featuring Xbox One content. The promotion was advertised by Machinima's UK community manager in a since-deleted tweet, and it also appears on Machinima's activity feed on Poptent, a clearinghouse for these kind of video marketing campaigns. The Poptent page also mentions an earlier campaign surrounding the Xbox One's launch in November, which offered an additional $1 CPM for videos "promoting the Xbox One and its release games." Whoops.
Still, it's a common thing that companies pay youtubers some money for views related to content mentioning something or with some product placement. Just look at common streamers / reviewers. They don't do that all for nothing
Its common for them to promote something for money, but it is against the us law to hide the fact that you are paid / sponsored to do it. This is borderland illegal if they somehow get away with a sponsor.
Yes, it's common. The issue really was not that it exist. The issue was the clause that they were not aloud to say, while promoting the Xbox One, that this was a paid promotion. Which would be illegal, according to the federal trade commissions. Also, Microsoft apparently did not add that clause. Machinima did. Or rather Machinima's PR in-between company did.
Does US law require it to be visible to every single user, or just the tax office? Perhaps they declared that fact. I'm not trying to defend them, but such practice is extremely common and I'd like to know better what's ok, and what is not. However, if Machinima guys pay taxes outside of US, then they don't have to comply to US laws (dunno where they are registered).
It's one of the recent requirements from FTC. It's required for every single reviewer / commentator / blogger to mention to their readers or viewers if the content he/she make was getting paid for by certain parties. Also, Machinima is mainly based in the US, hence there's a MachinimaUK. In the UK that might not be a problem (yet), but in the US it's definitely crossing the line FTC has put in for such cases.
Doesn't matter what machinima are based, if the one getting paid are US citizen and are US based. Then it is by law that they need to declare it, the contract cannot override existing law. We don't care if you are getting paid for doing it, what we care is that you are sneaky about it. EDIT: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/...osoft-paying-youtubers-for-xbox-one-mentions/ Also, looks like the damage is done by Machinima instead of Microsoft. But then, Microsoft initiated the deal which they should have review the contract and the campaign progress etc..
Yep. Hence the problem with the leaked NDA which basically stated "If we know that you tell people you've been given extra monies for this, you won't get anything". Or they probably just did the "We're not the one enforcing it, just suggested Machinima that the less people know about the deal the better".
