So you want to post some fan content, huh?

... A few tips that go a long way - and don't forget this important thing: Today it's the World Environmental Day.

A couple of weeks ago, I was beginning to consider what to write about in this newsletter. I opened YouTube on my phone to see if that sparked any ideas. The familiar screen with algortithmic suggestions came up. First a few videos, then the usual picks of shorts. It was here I first found something interesting. It was a short with a picture of Aurora standing on a stage. The text said: “AURORA stops the show!”.

I then thought to write about this. Something about how Aurora is not only performing to entertain us, but she cares enough to take in what’s going on in the crowd. She wants us all to be safe and secure. I opened the description box for this YouTube Short, and it was then it hit me: There was nothing there. Just the name of the account (Aurora and some song title), along with some hashtags. Nothing about where it was from, who had made the video, or any links to the original video.

We have to do something about this…

Why do I care about this?

There’s a whole lot of reasons why this matters. And the first one should matter to you as well: if you upload without credits or having received permission, your account might be closed. I have spoken to quite a few warriors who finally began to grow in subscribers. Without a warning, they where closed down. Even a few who had Aurora following them got lost. For some, that was years of work down the drain.

I was close once. A photographer approached me in my dm’s, letting me know that I had made some mistakes here. I used the following weeks to root out and archive every post that I wasn’t sure was OK. It was a chore.

Secondly; It’s about respect. Most artists, photographers and film-makers have spent a whole lot of money and time (even got educated) to become so good at what they do. Selling their pieces is what brings food to their tables. It would be sad if the value of their work should diminish, just because I had to post it before it was ready to be spread.

Thirdly, as it was in my case which I described above. Sometimes I wish to use something I find. I want to credit them. Honor them. That’s very hard to do if you can’t find the source of the original. Then it’s just another piece drowning in the sea of social media.

And finally - It’s the law. I don’t want to be fined. I don’t have that much money, that I wish to spend them on this.

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But… What about “Fair Use”?

Fair Use is a legal term that doesn’t automatically cover fan posts. At least not if you don’t tag, credit and link the source. And not if you don’t include some sentences about it, either in the sound, on the visuals or in the captions. Fair Use is also mostly an American law, though many other countries have similar phrases in their laws. In most countries, it only applies to specific situations like to criticize, to comment, in reporting news or within education.

By the way: Saying “No copyright infringement intended” is nothing more than a way to avoid taking responsibility, and offers no protections in terms of legal use.

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What can we do? What is OK? How?

What you can do, and should, is just as easy as it is hard. At least, I found it hard to hold back my impulses in the beginning. Later, the change of routine became a new habit. To spare you from a lot of unnecessary words, I made a little checklist:

• Is this your own work? If “Yes” - Then you can do what you want 💚

• Ask yourself: Was this originally posted by Aurora or her team? If that’s the case, it’s probably safe to repost without a written permission. Aurora has often encouraged us to share. One exception, as you can see from a post Aurora shared on Facebook and Instagram a while back. Stay away from childhood photos:

There is truly nothing weirder than seeing old pictures of myself on your account, I would rather prefer if you didn’t, cause I feel like you are taking arora that didn’t choose fame and putting her into this world, I don’t feel like she belongs here.

Those are private photographs as it makes me feel so strange when they are handles like the belong to the world. I’ve been asked by so many people now how I feel about it, and I thought I should write a tiny little text. I still think you guys are the best!

What can we do… continued…

• Is this someone else’s work? Well, then you reach out to them. I prefer to make a comment on the thing I like to repost, asking them to check their dm’s. In the dm, you may put in some words about who you are, and ask if you can post the thing. Include a link to the post. Remember to ask if it’s OK to make any changes to the original if you are going to cut or edit it in some way, and you say that you will tag and credit them (of course).

• When you post: Provide a link to the source. Add the name of the owner. Tag them and give them credit for their work. Even if you just used a picture as reference when you painted a copy… and let us know that you was granted permission to share.

• Don’t know the source? Do a Google image search, ask a friend or don’t post it. If it’s on you YouTube. Keep reading:

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Fabrice might help you

Go to his newly built website: AURORA Media db

Screenshot from the AURORA Media db, made by Fabrice.

Yes, It’s a database for every interesting content related to Aurora that probably exist on YouTube. He wrote:

I created this little website with the goal of making it easier to find the videos you’re looking for : let’s face it, Youtube search is very limited at best, giving totally irrelevant results even. Here, you’ll be able to search the full content of my playlists, that includes the video titles of course, but also their descriptions, their release date or channel names. It’s possible, for example, to find which full show videos contain “Runaway”, as long as their author has added the list of songs performed at that show in the description of the video.

You can search for song titles, words that exists in their descriptions and even words that exists within the subtitles of interviews. It has never been easier to find a specific YouTube Video.

OK… You know what to do now. Sorry if it comes out somewhat hard, harsh or lecturing. It’s just that this is a matter close to my heart.

I will end this letter with one more topic…

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Today is World Environmental Day

It’s #WorldEnvironmentalDay today, and the official theme for this year is #BeatPlasticPollution.

World Environmental Day is the UN’s call to all of us to protect the planet we share together, and as fans of @auroramusic we can not let this day pass without giving it some attention.

auroraswarriors.no

A post shared by @auroraswarriors.no

We have gathered and made a video. The accounts mentioned below have contributed, showing how we all may contribute to lessen the plastic pollution in our daily life:
@auroraitalyoff
@aurorawarriors.ph
@aurora.meepie.hk
@aurora.warriors.malaysia
@aurora8team
@aurorafranceoff
@auroraph.mothership
@auroras_warriors_and_weirdos
@childlike.soul_of_aurora.

There have been a lot of other posts today as well, who has covered this important day. Here are some of them:

aurora.meepie.hk

A post shared by @aurora.meepie.hk

auroraph.mothership

A post shared by @auroraph.mothership

aurora.meepie.hk

A post shared by @aurora.meepie.hk

aurora.meepie.hk

A post shared by @aurora.meepie.hk

auroraph.mothership

A post shared by @auroraph.mothership

aurora.meepie.hk

A post shared by @aurora.meepie.hk

Thanks to all who contribute - and to those of you who share their work.

Kind Regards
Rune

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