The BBC Sounds Goon Show archive was set to expire soon, but they've extended the availability of everything up to and including series 6 for another year. Hopefully series 7-10 will follow, as they're listed as expiring in 40 days. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand... - ThreadSky

eddierobson.bsky.social • 9 days ago

The BBC Sounds Goon Show archive was set to expire soon, but they've extended the availability of everything up to and including series 6 for another year. Hopefully series 7-10 will follow, as they're listed as expiring in 40 days. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b0072vdz?page=1

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mysteriosox.bsky.social•9 days ago

Given that the Beeb owns the copyright, any idea why they'd take them down? All kinds of stuff appears and then disappears again

culturephilter.bsky.social•9 days ago

For Radio Drama and Comedy, Pre-streaming contracts with actors and writers would specify a particular amount of broadcasts that any recording could be given with out additional payments to those actors or writers being made.

culturephilter.bsky.social•9 days ago

So for archive made in that time they'll have to go back to those people they had contracts with (or their estates) and renegotiate for streaming. For stuff made now its period of time on streaming that is part of the contract as well as amount of broadcasts. But still not free to keep it up forever

cooraysmith.bsky.social•9 days ago

Because they don’t.

kayfourbee.bsky.social•9 days ago

To encourage piracy

eddierobson.bsky.social•9 days ago

It's not as simple as that by a long chalk. The BBC owns the copyright on the recordings, but the writers retain copyright in their scripts, and actors and musicians are due royalties. Everyone needs to agree and be paid. It costs the BBC money to put old stuff up on Sounds and iPlayer.

mysteriosox.bsky.social•9 days ago

I was told years ago that the board of the Beeb had been told by their own lawyers that under the terms of the charter they legally had to make everything possible available to licence payers on the internet, but also that they couldn't possibly afford to

eddierobson.bsky.social•9 days ago

Though it depends how you interpret the charter, which had obviously been written before the internet existed. It's impractical as well as unaffordable, the resources needed to have every scrap of archive available down to the afternoon show on BBC Radio Bristol in 1991 would be ludicrous.

mysteriosox.bsky.social•9 days ago

Oh, it's insane. But that's the advice they had (and this was back in the early days of the Interslice)

gralefrit.bsky.social•9 days ago

I can’t believe how hard it is to persuade people that just because everything was briefly free on Limewire in 1998, and that torrenting exists, that nobody needs to be paid for art any more. Keep hearing the “why isn’t all the BBC available?” whine, and it’s obviously impractical.

rachelish.bsky.social•9 days ago

For some reason the Nadger plague ep only has 9 days or something

eddierobson.bsky.social•9 days ago

Ooh cheers for the tip. Hopefully it'll get extended like the others.

eddierobson.bsky.social•9 days ago

FYI for those who don't know: the BBC doesn't just "own" programmes like this. They own the copyright in the recordings but writers keep the copyright in scripts. Actors and musicians are due royalties. Everyone has to get paid. It's not "free" for the BBC to put programmes on Sounds and iPlayer.

eddierobson.bsky.social•9 days ago

So if you're puzzled why things stop being available, it's not because the BBC can't be arsed, or think people don't care. It's that the rights have run out and it costs money to renew them, and they have to ask whether that money is worth spending, or if it could be spent on something else.

eddierobson.bsky.social•9 days ago

For more info see this by @cooraysmith.bsky.social https://archive.is/7Hxph

itsjoels.bsky.social•9 days ago

If you work at the BBC, you can get access to everything ever made, though.

danmckee.bsky.social•9 days ago

Imagine just being able to watch arthur negus whenever you want.

pussellrarker.bsky.social•9 days ago

I am living that dream and it’s everything you might imagine.

itsjoels.bsky.social•9 days ago

(Not that that helps most people.)

mikeslattery.bsky.social•9 days ago

Very interesting, thanks. It fascinates me how the thought process around "content" (ugh) has detached almost completely from reality now. If it costs me nothing to access, it must cost nobody anything to provide. AAMOI: if something's not streaming, can it be accessed otherwise? Or same problem?

eddierobson.bsky.social•9 days ago

Yep, exactly that. Also with the BBC, a lot of people figure "I pay my licence fee, therefore I should have access to all the programmes the BBC has made, because they've already been paid for"

andrewhickey.500songs.com•9 days ago

Indeed in this case with the recordings being pre-63 the BBC won't own *anything* (except maybe a trademark on the Goons name and/or copyright in the incidental music compositions) and it will *only* be the script copyright that matters.

eddierobson.bsky.social•9 days ago

I didn't think of that, good point! Yes, I think the name was given to them, possibly by Dennis Main Wilson who was on staff. So the BBC might own that.

cooraysmith.bsky.social•9 days ago

It’s probably never come up. It’s certainly never been trademarked.

eddierobson.bsky.social•9 days ago

No, and there have been things like books of scripts published by non-BBC companies using the name.

elspethcooper.bsky.social•9 days ago

Thanks for this reminder. The Goons were a feature of my childhood - I can practically quote the script of "Tales of Men's Shirts". I think I know what I'm going to be doing for the rest of this week!

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