Google Video – You want me to pay for what?

If you’ve checked out Google’s Video service lately, you’re likely to be surprised at how fast the service has grown in terms of the video offerings—both premium content and user-uploaded videos. There are now various new releases from the Video store, including shows from ABC and CBS, and music videos from mainstream musicians and also some independent releases from users.

The Google Video Blog provides updates on new stuff available or being featured on the service. For instance, there’s NYSNC’s Dirrrty Pop from Sony-BMG and Beyonce’s Crazy In Love, costing US$ 1.99 each. Other popular videos are also available, such as 50 Cent’s Rowdy Rowdy, and no, it doesn’t cost 50 cents, but US$ 1.99!

It’s great to be able to purchase a few minutes’ worth of entertainment for a couple of bucks. But sometimes, the videos being sold on Google Video are just simply absurd for the asking price.

For instance, Google Video Blog features the National Collegiate Debate Championship, and the International Collegiate Solar Car Championship, which retail for US$ 4.99 apiece. Well, I might find this interesting, but I would rather watch some of this stuff for free.

Granted, you get low-resolution previews of the videos for sale, but sometimes even that’s too much to watch. Ten, maybe twenty seconds into the video, and you might decide you’re better off browsing elsewhere. I guess, in this case, Google Video also caters to niche audiences, in that it can serve as a video-distribution mechanism for just about any video you want to share with the world.

If you want to earn from your obscure-topic video recordings (your own, of course, and not copyrighted by another entity), then Google might be the place for you. We say “might,” as unless your work is good enough to merit a paying audience, then you’re probably better off keeping the videos to yourself or uploading them as free videos.