Tone Deaf

Some may recall that I've had a bit of a hobby setting music to movie clips, to sort of create cool (I think) music videos. Youtube has a system that scans the audio and video to see if it matches a "finger print" of copyrighted material in its database. If it does, and the company that owns the rights to the content requests Youtube block that content, the video will be rejected or the audio disabled.

I've been having problems with Youtube rejecting videos that have songs from Opeth's Watershed album. I did a bit of checking and see why this is happening now.

Publishing companies can partner with Youtube to share in advertising revenue related to videos for which they own the copyright. Warner Music Group, which owns the rights to Watershed, has suddenly opted out, and now everything related to their portfolio of music is being rejected by Youtube.

I contend that my use of the music is "fair use". I bought the album, I should be able to use the music in my videos as they are not for commercial purposes. Even videos of kids singing "Winter Wonderland" have been banned from Youtube at the request of the publishing company. Countless machinima videos.. Sims videos.. World of Warcraft videos, and on and on, have been banned from Youtube.

If you have a wedding video that has some particular song in the background, it will be banned from Youtube for copyright violation. It's that bad.

The publishing companies, and particularly Warner Music Group, are battling with their customers, and that battle will not go well for them. They refuse to adapt to the realities of the new digital world. I will not buy music or any other content that is related to Warner Music Group, and I am hoping that they go bankrupt as soon as possible.

I hope that more recording artists go the route that Trent Reznor has taken Nine Inch Nails. He not only releases his music for use by fans in any way they want (non commercial of course), he actually encourages it. He's encouraged fans to create their own videos using his songs, and then uses them during his live performances. It's very cool.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has more info on this issue. It makes no sense at all, and the blood suckers that have lived off the real artists for decades need to die a fast and painful death.