It may be a dupe, but this article has some interesting statistics of how their album sales have increased since making the video embeddable. Anecdotal, sure, but interesting nonetheless.

The article linked to above is just a short blurb..

There are far too many factors at play to attribute the increased sales to such a small aspect as video embedability. However the label certainly appeared to be completely braindead in this regard. What harm could possibly come from allowing embeds?

Indeed, one reason behind the phenomenal success of the band is some of its early videos were viral sensations in the mid-2000s. Killing embedding seriously weakens the ability of OK Go to attract new followers, as their music doesn't get a lot of radio airplay and new fans who are unaware of the band are probably not browsing YouTube to find new music -- they're looking on friends' facebook pages, music blogs, etc.

I believe an OK Go member said that YouTube will only pay royalties for the song if it is watched on their site, and not embedded. The label would rather get the guaranteed $ from each viewing of the video than the potential $ from getting more exposure.

See, it's easy to call big old businessmen stupid, but there's more to these decisions than consumers can see. Not to say you shouldn't put on pressure for them to change, but respect what they decide in the end, and move on if it's not worth it to you.

Since when do you have to respect another company's business decisions? In the end, there is content we want, and the company is making it harder for us to get it. Nothing respectable from a consumers point of view about that.

If that was the reason then I would agree with the GP, but the real reason is virality. A music video is a promotional tool, not a cash cow.

I just mean you should respect how their decision affects themselves. Respect that they're looking out for themselves, they're more likely to know what's best for them than you are, and that their goals aren't necessarily in line with yours.

So yes, you should complain about them, but you shouldn't complain that they're being "stupid" (ie, not doing the best for themselves), you should worry about yourself and complain that you're not getting what you want, and you should put pressure on them. Let them figure out how and whether to give it to you.

To me, the alternative is people feeling like they should micromanage each other, which I think is bad for various reasons.

If I remember right, the royalties from youtube were only a couple thousand dollars, so yes they were stupid, very stupid.

I find that incredibly shortsighted.