Tribute IS NOT theft
PookLowEnd
Posts: 3
Hello whoever reads this,
As you may know, some fan videos are being removed from YouTube for "Copyright Infringement" by a faceless entity. Copyright Laws are supposed to exist to protect the author against bad use of their work and THEFT.
Since when playing the songs of your idols in your room and sharing your playing skills with others for feedback became THEFT? However, YouTube has given "someone" ("someone," we suspect, are record companies and groups such as the Universal Music Group (UMG)) the power to remove any videos which uses material under their control, including FAN videos. This doesn't only screw with us, LRRG's, but screws with the artists as well. This faceless entity is bullying their client's fans.
We, the Living-Room Rock Gods, are a small community of YouTube musicians who just like to do videos of ourselves playing the songs of our idols with the sole purpose of getting feedback from other players around the world. This does ANYTHING but have a negative impact on the artist's albums sales. If anything, it helps them. I know I've gotten into some bands after seeing other home-based musicians play their songs on the Tube.
I ask of you, stand against this ABUSE OF COPYRIGHT LAWS by letting the artists know what's going on by any means possible. Keep posting videos on YouTube and keep sharing your talent with other Living-Room Rock Gods around the world.
Tribute IS NOT theft.
-Pook
lrrgs.blogspot.com
tributeisnottheft.blogspot.com
As you may know, some fan videos are being removed from YouTube for "Copyright Infringement" by a faceless entity. Copyright Laws are supposed to exist to protect the author against bad use of their work and THEFT.
Since when playing the songs of your idols in your room and sharing your playing skills with others for feedback became THEFT? However, YouTube has given "someone" ("someone," we suspect, are record companies and groups such as the Universal Music Group (UMG)) the power to remove any videos which uses material under their control, including FAN videos. This doesn't only screw with us, LRRG's, but screws with the artists as well. This faceless entity is bullying their client's fans.
We, the Living-Room Rock Gods, are a small community of YouTube musicians who just like to do videos of ourselves playing the songs of our idols with the sole purpose of getting feedback from other players around the world. This does ANYTHING but have a negative impact on the artist's albums sales. If anything, it helps them. I know I've gotten into some bands after seeing other home-based musicians play their songs on the Tube.
I ask of you, stand against this ABUSE OF COPYRIGHT LAWS by letting the artists know what's going on by any means possible. Keep posting videos on YouTube and keep sharing your talent with other Living-Room Rock Gods around the world.
Tribute IS NOT theft.
-Pook
lrrgs.blogspot.com
tributeisnottheft.blogspot.com
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
Like it or not, if you share cover tunes publically without obtaining permission, you are, by practical purposes "breaking the law".
Our Bill of rights....
http://www.ascap.com/press/2008/0417_billofrights.aspx
"Fair Use" states that you can use the material of others without asking for permission if your intent is to criticize, mock it (parody), or teach. This means that you can use the original material to tare the author to pieces, but, if you want to pay tribute to that author, you're "breaking the law."
Playing covers on a site like YouTube and sharing your skills with others should not constitute Copyright Infringement. We're merely playing in our bedrooms/living-rooms and showing it to others. Just like our idols did before us, with the slight difference that we have the great advantage of the internet to get tips from other musicians around the world.
Another thing is that whoever is taking our videos down, we're pretty sure are not the artists. Metallica has released a YouTube channel encouraging their fans to post videos of themselves playing Metallica's songs.
We do not generate revenue for doing this, so the artists are not losing any money from us playing covers. We're their fans. And someone is screwing us over.
With the example you are talking about, if you are just having fun with the artists music with a few friends in your bedroom or living room, then you are not publically playing copyrighted material so you are ok. No one can tell you what you can or cannot do with it. On youtube, whether you are being paid or not, you are still performing publically, so that's where they will get you everytime. I agree it's over the top and ridiculously anal, especially the youtube example, but i also see the otherside where music is like all personal property; when you want to use it, you need permission.
It's also ridiculous to expect that everyone will automatically join a Performance Rights Organizations (like ASCAP) and pay their membership dues. Not gonna happen.
All you can do is keep fighting the fight..
I believe this is dead on.
Another area where I think you'll lose the case is that:
1. Youtube derives revenue from advertising based on volume of hits. Each video on the site drives the volume, and in turn, sales. Since they're profiting from the videos, then they have to be wary of videos like yours since they're violating copyright laws.
2. Since Youtube does allow their videos to be shared (they provide code to embed the videos on blogs, Facebook, Myspace, etc.) the potential for these other outlets to benefit financially from the videos is beyond Youtube's control, but is still their responsibility as the host. Again, they must ensure that no laws are being broken.
Playing for personal use in your living room is one thing...broadcasting it publicly to the world is another.
(Shawn Smith's official website, but not Thee Shawn Smith)
violating copyright laws... yes.
Admin
Social awareness does not equal political activism!
5/23/2011- An utter embarrassment... ticketing failures too many to list.
Reproducing other people's stuff is not talent, it's a copy machine.
I totally agreee.....by virtue of the fact that your videos are drawing people to Youtube, the site makes money, and you get the benefit of spreading your work for free. Everyone is unjustly benefiting, so the artist should have the right to take the performances down.
Right. I totally agree. We ARE violating Copyright Laws as they're written and executed today. However, I feel the solution for this is not removing these fans videos without any kind of explanation or eve providing a name of who is claiming the Copyright Infringement (all the notices state that "someone" has claimed the infringement).
What we're fighting for is not for the abolition of the copyright laws. They do need to exist, of course. What we want is for fan videos playing in their living room not to be considered as violating such laws. We know this is possible, since parody and criticism of copyrighted material without the permission of the author IS legal (Fair Use). It's kind of ironic (in my eyes) that you can legally mock or bash any copyrighted material, but, if you pay tribute to it, you're breaking the law.
We're not trying to find ways to get around the law. Our ultimate goal is to make the law change.