YouTube is taking a new approach to the rampant copyright violations that exist on the site by removing the audio on videos that use songs without permission (so yes, those fan videos of Gossip Girl and Harry Potter have to go). The images remain but the sound is turned off, which in the words of Michael Arrington, create a bunch of very "creepy soundless videos". YouTube has this to say on their blog:
"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 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, users can choose to leave the video muted and live on the site, and many of them are taking that option. "
It's an incredibly weird decision to leave the video up without sound, but who can really understand the motivations of most YouTube users? This move is yet another reminder of how approaches to copyright online need to evolve along with technology. Is it really so bad if a teenager decides to make a fan video for Jason Mraz?
It goes back to the question we've been asking since the days of Napster: how is any of this different than when we made tapes for each other? The public shouldn't be to blame for the outdated business model of the music industry. For the umpteenth time record labels: catch up with what is happening and stop making such clueless decisions. It makes you look even older than you already are.
[via TechCrunch]
Image via DrumBum.com