Are reaction channels a bad thing?

Nevi said:
Ehhhh I'm iffy, leaning towards bad. I hate the ones who rip videos from YTers that clearly put in more effort than they do only for most of them to sit there and do nothing. I have no idea why those have an audience. I can't completely rip on them because I'm subbed to a few K-pop reaction channels, but they're entertaining and give me a sense of fandom solidarity when my fave K-pop artists release something new. And they discuss the video and song afterwards. I could understand many Sit-There-And-Be-Quiet reaction audiences if that were the case, but it doesn't look like it.
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I guess some peoples "Real Life" reactions are kinda boring, but I guess there is a audience for everyone.
 
clerick said:
Don't like them at all. If you monetize it and react then i'm throwing a copyright strike at you. You don't help my views by "reacting it", i can see the click through rates from these "react" videos and they are negligible at best while stealing millions of views from me. Same for top 5/10/whatever video compilations.
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Hmm. So are the the fine bros and h3h3 productions a no? majority of content creators seem to love the fine bros.
 
LJay said:
He's allowed to post reaction videos (no matter how boring or awful they are) for the same reasons Gamers are allowed to upload and monetize gameplay videos due to the whole fair use and derivative argument I won't get into here.
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Not even remotely the same thing.

The game companies who's games are used authorize the use of their games to be used in 'lets play' videos.

There is no fair use in regards to reaction videos especially since most show the original piece (or, at the very least, their audio) unchanged in their entirety.
 
StrawKen said:
Very true. Never understood why people get mad at jinx but not get mad at the finebros or h3h3, they both produce the same content (Reacting To Videos). We shouldn't be seperating reactors based on content... Otherwise If people disprove of Reactions channels then people like the fine bros and h3h3 are gone as well...
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In the case of FineBros and H3H3, they tend to add something to the reaction video itself. Finebros have multiple people reacting, facts, questions/opinions afterwards. H3H3 generally has skits, gags, commentaries among other things. Most reaction channels just have the camera on them, not really changing their facial expression or saying anything for that matter, and maybe a few words in closing. They're aren't really creating anything themselves.
 
Ninja said:
In the case of FineBros and H3H3, they tend to add something to the reaction video itself. Finebros have multiple people reacting, facts, questions/opinions afterwards. H3H3 generally has skits, gags, commentaries among other things. Most reaction channels just have the camera on them, not really changing their facial expression or saying anything for that matter, and maybe a few words in closing. They're aren't really creating anything themselves.
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True. I find it hard to watch Jinx myself... a bit cringe worthy tbh. But there is an audience out there for everyone I guess.
 
Shakycow said:
The game companies who's games are used authorize the use of their games to be used in 'lets play' videos.

There is no fair use in regards to reaction videos especially since most show the original piece (or, at the very least, their audio) unchanged in their entirety.
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Reactions do fall into the fair use category because it's a commentary. Reaction is just a fancy substitute for "commentary" used to accentuate and sensationalize the title and type of the video to get people to click on it. In the previous post I made I said I didn't want to get into the whole argument of fair use. The reason being is that fair use is broad and too general. You have to really know what you are posting and how it's presented if you want to upload and monetize the Intellectual Property of others. It's not up for me or you to determine what can and can't be uploaded and/or monetized. That's the court of law's job. You say that Game Developers authorize people use of their games in lets plays which isn't true, there are plenty of channels (which I have seen from this forum) that get into trouble with copyright and strikes. Not all Game Developers allow for their games to be uploaded or even monetized especially in specific instances such as cutscenes and in some cases: reviews. Furthermore, most people believe they can just record, edit, upload and monetize gaming videos without ever getting permission from the Developers or seeing if they have guidelines which allows for people to upload and monetize. That's just like guys like Jinx. In addition, Game Developers can monetize other people's gaming videos if they wanted (and it happens) just with how Reaction/Commentary type channels have their videos monetized by other Creators. So yeah, the situation in regards to fair use, reaction and gaming videos are really similar. All that mess I've mentioned can be a huge gray area here on YouTube.
 
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LJay said:
Reactions do fall into the fair use category because it's a commentary.
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Again, no. Even if they are classified as a commentary (a very gray area and debatable itself), reaction videos (more often than not) show the video they're reacting to in their entirety. A huge no-no.

LJay said:
You say that Game Developers authorize people use of their games in lets plays which isn't true, there are plenty of channels (which I have seen from this forum) that get into trouble with copyright and strikes. Not all Game Developers allow for their games to be uploaded or even monetized especially in specific instances such as cutscenes and in some cases: reviews.
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I never said all game developers authorize their game footage usage. It is an ever changing group of developers and publishers who allow it and it is up to the YouTube channels to do their research and know in advance what games are and are not allowed.

The channels who don't get into any sort of trouble are the ones who use games that are authorized, but that still remains up to the game developers.

Reaction videos are completely different as the vast majority of videos out there do not give permission, are not part of ContentID, and have no way of claiming the videos' earnings for themselves. The only recourse is a copyright strike which, in the majority of cases, is completely justified.



LJay said:
Furthermore, most people believe they can just record, edit, upload and monetize gaming videos without ever getting permission from the Developers or seeing if they have guidelines which allows for people to upload and monetize. That's just like guys like Jinx. In addition, Game Developers can monetize other people's gaming videos if they wanted (and it happens) just with how Reaction/Commentary type channels have their videos monetized by other Creators. So yeah, the situation in regards to fair use, reaction and gaming videos are really similar. All that mess I've mentioned can be a huge gray area here on YouTube.
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Interesting how you said they have the right to post reaction videos (as well as gaming videos), but quickly change your tune after my response and give reasons on why people can't.


In the end, gaming videos and reaction videos are completely different... especially since, with a quick Google search, one can see exactly which game companies allow footage and monetization and which ones don't. That simply isn't an option with creating reaction videos and, as I've stated, the vast majority of reaction videos I've seen would quickly fail the four statutory factors of Fair Use.
 
The react channels that don't react much are a problem, they are getting views for no reason. I only follow 2 react channels Fine Bros and REACT, they are the ones that started the trend and they know how to make the reaction videos. They don't just react to viral videos they also do videos on kids reacting to old tech, teens reacting to music, games and even politicals of crazy USA.
 
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