Hello and welcome to the ReadyMade Vault!
I know that a webpage for everything is a bit unexpected but it's something I have wanted to do for a bit. I felt I needed to take the leap recently however. I'll explain best I can with my signature diatribe.
Viewers of my channel know that my output has decreased from 2023 to today. I have found other creative passions throughout that time and had gotten burned out with video editing and trying to upload. On top of all of this, I felt like I had lost the creative spark that made me gravitate to YouTube as a kid. It's such a different system now and one that often squashes free expression. Instead of trying to keep up, I chose to do it at my own pace. I had plans to bring the channel back in 2025 with videos about Wish You Were Here and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, but then came the changes.
In late July 2025, amidst numerous censorous pushes by both right and left wing across the world, YouTube announced an AI age verification process which will require personal data submitted. As I write this (August 12th) the feature has not rolled out yet but given the site's completely batshit past when it comes to implementation, I have a feeling it will end up harming more people than it ever saves. I am opposed to any policy like that and don't want to be involved on a site that does uses that level of surveillence. It has become so fundamentally clear that companies like Google should not be given any sort of trust on issues like these.
Part of the issue for me is that it would put anyone who doesn't verify into restricted viewing. My second channel (which is a throwaway) isn't heavily affected, but my main channel is decimated. It's not just age-restricted videos. There are multiple videos that have nothing in them that won't be viewable. It is horrible and demoralizing. I have been making essays for over five years. I have put so much effort into them. Now they can't even be seen unless we bend the knee to a company over an issue they won't solve
This has taken me out of retirement because I feel that I need to preserve the videos I've made. I doubt they'll be taken off YouTube, but they might as well be gone to anyone who doesn't comply. As someone who opposes that type of policy, I feel that I must try and preserve what I have put so much effort into. I did look at YouTube alternatives but they all suck for one reason or another, and it'll be a cold day in hell when I decide to join Rumble! So I'm making the vault.
All videos from the main channel are being put (or already are) on the Internet Archive. More stuff from the second channel and beyond will soon join appear there. I might also start blogging here, sharing my thoughts on random albums, concerts, and other things on my mind. I hope that this place is something exciting for you all. It is for me and I hope we can make something special out of something so shitty. Perhaps we need that attitude now more than ever...