If you press play on the above video and are confused by its lack of audio, don’t be confused: The clip has had its audio—which was originally a mish-mash of versions of “Walk” by Pantera, Avenged Sevenfold, and Disturbed—stripped by the video-sharing site YouTube. The muted clip is now captioned by the below advisory on the site:
This is a new development in YouTube’s seemingly endless fight over music copyrights, what with the site being a frequent conduit for streamed music that may not have been cleared by artists and/or their labels. In response to the hue and cry that ensued when people realized that finding music on the Internet was getting a little bit tougher, YouTube let people know that the mute button was actually a way to help users retain at least some of their creative output:
Previously, when a music label or other rights owner issued a copyright claim to block audio, the video was automatically taken down. Uploaders had two choices: dispute the claim (in the case of fair use, for example) or use our AudioSwap tool to replace the track with one from our library of pre-cleared music. Now we’ve added an additional choice. Instead of automatically removing the video from YouTube, we give users the option to modify the video by removing the music subject to the copyright claim and post the new version, and many of them are taking that option.
Our content management tools have revolutionized the ways in which users and content owners are distributing, marketing, and making money from video online. As we continue to build out this system, we are working to find the right balance between encouraging creativity and free expression and respecting the rights of copyright holders and the law.
Most of the videos that this has happened with so far seem to have used music distributed by Warner Music Group, which is currently tussling with YouTube over just how much money it should get for videos streamed on the site. What this is going to mean for the tribute-video world is still up in the air.
ser Choice and Music Licensing [YouTube Blog]
myspace :: facebook
youtube :: ????
@dog door: dailymotion?
@dog door: Uh, something infinitely better/less cluttered/less obtrusive than YouTube?
This is a pretty ridiculous situation, but there’s a much more important question at hand: Maura, did you see Ida last night, or are you going tonight? I’ll be on my way to the Mercury in a couple of hours, since I’m not trekking from Jersey into Brooklyn unless there’s no other option (or, as was the case with McCarren Pool Parties, a free, dodgeball-enriched option). I am, suffice it to say, beyond excited.
@kicking222: i’m going tonight!
no, i’m asking. what’s the next youtube? is it up yet? seriously, everytime one of the mp3 filesharing sites went legit or got taken down, everyone moved on to the next one. i don’t know if it’s out there, but it will be soon.
oh dailymotion looks nice. no black 47 videos yet though.
@dog door: i know! that’s why i said dailymotion. honestly, it’s what i use to embed most of my umg videos. (for some reason, embedded ad revenue from france is less lucrative?)
@Maura Johnston: Then I’ll see you there! (Theoretically; in actuality, I’d imagine not, though that’d be fun… I’m wearing a shirt with the lyrics to “Maps” on it, because I’m a hipster like that, but not enough of a hipster to have ironic tattoos or stupidly spiked/dyed hair or tight jeans with upturned cuffs.)
What was I talking about? Oh yeah… IDA MARIA!!!!
I also like DailyMotion, but I don’t love it. Indeed, there’s no video site that I think is truly great.
i like to believe the audio had been disabled on that video for humane reasons, because no one should have to listen to any of those bands, let alone all at once!
This *just* happened to me trying to find a Bob Marley original. I was genuinely perplexed as to whether or not it was a computer issue for a good 2 minutes.
Um, isn’t that a copywrit image being used in that video?
The Record Industry is slowly committing the longest suicide in history…
@kicking222: vimeo.com
Oh God. The brave new world is stomping all over humanity. Grrrrr