One of the videos that has taken the internets by storm comes way of South Korea, called Gangnam Style. The Atlantic has a fantastic overview of its back-history and why it is so popular both in the Hermit Kingdom and globally.
Here is a copy via Youku (Youtube is blocked out here).
It has racked up more than 274 million views and its success is in part not just because of the subtle parodies of the posh Korean gu of Gangnam, but because its creator, Psy, waived all copyrights. This (in)action thus paved the way for remixing and covers (among other creations). The Guardian has more details:
The video also contains the seeds of its own reconstruction – which goes a long way to explain its success. The dance moves are simple enough to mimic and easily copied scenarios – such as the elevator scene – call out to be aped. Psy has produced a video that is born to spawn and has further facilitated this by waiving his copyright. This stands in high contrast to many western hip-hop stars who have been slow to relinquish control of their “intellectual” property in the same way (take Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind, for example, which quickly generated a host of YouTube tributes that were quickly removed by EMI).
See also: Against Intellectual Property (pdf) by Stephan Kinsella.
Update: Be sure to also read Mike Masnick’s detailed post over at TechDirt and Evan Osnos’s excellent piece from The New Yorker, Why China Lacks Gangnam Style
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