Dear esteemed representatives of Netflix, Worldwide Pants, Comedy Central, NBC Universal, SNL and the estate of Norm Macdonald:
From North America to Tasmania and beyond, the life’s work of comedian Norm Macdonald has brought laughter and smiles to a global community on a level we have not seen since George Carlin, Rodney Dangerfield and Don Rickles. Norm was beloved by his fans and colleagues alike the the saddest thing since his passing is the fact that a guy like Mr. Macdonald only comes around once in a generation if we are lucky and there are no guarantees a person of such natural talent will appear as a comedian. It is like Steve Jobs passing, we probably will not see man like Jobs appear in technology for a generation or more. People like this are born with greatness in them that can be aspired to and copied, but never equalled.
We all could use Norm now more than ever given the events of the last three years because laughter is the one thing that can take a person out of a dark state of being or depression even if it is only temporary. I was blessed to interview Norm as arranged by Comedy Central at the time of the release of his CD Ridiculous. I was surprised at his intellect personally as our conversation went from comedy to talking about the movie Good Night And Good Luck, a phrase Norm often used on weekend update when he would close that segment. He even had an interest in genre films and books, which is something I loved. I planned on finally releasing the audio of the interview on my companion YouTube channel in 2020, but the tape needs a bit of restoration so I was all set to have it done and then CoVid happened. Now I will restore the audio and publish the interview on YouTube as is my right since I own the copyright to my own work.
However if YouTubers want to make shorts from bits of the audio, so long as they do what I do on my shorts and cite the original link to the source video, I have no problem, but even if they did not, I would let it slide because if it brings happiness to someone to hear new Norm Macdonald content, then go to it. I am not doing this for the money. I work out of passion.
Now everyone has the right to defend their own intellectual property so when I get a copyright notice informing me that Netflix, Worldwide Pants, NBC Universsl and SNL has blocked a 15 second short I copied from a YouTube video who is not affiliated with any of these entities, I take it in stride, but I am not deterred. This is where I propose my idea to you all.
Years ago HBO released a box set containing all of George Carlin’s standup specials on DVD. A treasure. Might you all in conjunction of the approval of the estate of Norm Macdonald consider doing the same. Hand pick what you approve and make it available even for a limited time to purchase on Blu-ray and DVD and Digital because being a miser over where people can laugh goes against the very spirit of comedy not to mention Norm Macdonald.
I am not asking for something for nothing. I think Norm’s fans would gladly pay to have a memento of his brilliance. I can tell you all right now there are people charging to get a copy of episodes of Norm Macdonald Live and I wonder who approved that?
So you want people to not share fifteen seconds of Norm live, then either create a definitive and approved source for all things Norm or consider my idea please. A smile can save a life. Thank you for your time and consideration and be grateful. Not hateful. Namaste.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Rivera
Writer/Reviewer/Editor/Webmaster
Genreonline.net
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