By Ken Sheetz
UPDATE 4.8.13! Happy to report the 2012 article below is now historical. YouTube's recognition of the crooks who were making a mess for all of us content creators is under much better control. I've been getting far less bogus copyright claims using Apple scores and VideoBlock (excellent service btw) of late. So hip hip hurray! YouTube is fixed... for now:)
YouTube is broken. You might not know it if you are not a content creator and AdSense user. But if you make income on YouTube like I do on many YT channels like KidsTalkPolitics, BuzzBroz, ProjectDiscoverMe and DreamShield2012 and others for our client channels - totaling over 6 million views - you know all too well. You painfully know from the gapping hole in your content creator pocketbook.
The issue stems from clever music rights hackers, robbing the legitimate content revenue by registering stock Apple loops and music bed songs from Soundtrack Pro and Garage Band.
What happens next, where YouTube is badly broken, is that the YouTube copyright scanning program then sends the legitimate user of the Apple material a copyright infringement notice as if it's the hacker's own song you just used and not Apple's rights free material. Scary stuff, considering copyright infringement means potential prison time and huge fines. Yet, you did nothing wrong in using stock Apple songs, so relax. False arrests, though unpleasant, would be the mother of all legal backfires, perhaps costing YouTube billions.
"But wait you are not going jail", says YouTube "mercifully", as though doing you a favor. Phew! The YT copyright infringement notice tells you the video content creator, however, despite your bogus violation you may still keep your video on YouTube. How kind! Until, YouTube now tells you, the naughty users they are letting off so easy, that the ad revenue will go into the pockets, in this case of a clever hacker, who illegally registered the Apple song. Yuck.
Gotta hand to the sneaky bastards, this is a genius hack, since most content creators don't have AdSense accounts and are not going to give a hoot. All this musical hacking of the hundreds of millions of YouTube users is big money.
I talked to Apple about the broken music rights system on YouTube, since a big selling point of Apple's software is that their great music is rights clear. But Apple says, "Not our problem the YouTube computers that have been scammed. Sorry, Charlie."
HOW BROKEN IS YOUTUBE?
YouTube's copyright scanner software is so broken that even for non-Apple songs, even videos for which I have 100% worldwide clear rights, the YouTube copyright scanner can't figure this out most of the time! YouTube's solution? The monetize option gets "whited out". No money for content creator or the pirate. Come on, YouTube, a lose-lose solution for your content creators making living on YouTube blows.
Perhaps in part ,YouTube's apathy to fix this issue stems from the fact YouTube is promoting their cool "enhancement" features in a negative sell, as if to say, "Here, content creators, play it safe. Simply use one of YouTube's preselected rights cleared song for which Youtube has lined its own pockets with the big record labels' dough and you, dear peon, can score your video for free!" Big whoop.
For the average YouTube content creator it's mighty strong negative incentive to use this enhancement to avoid up to 5 years on prison and $250,000 in fines for copyright infringements. I actually like YTs enhancement music more than Apple's and I'd use it more myself, except the income is not shared with me the video content creator. Doh! Hardly an enhancement of my dwindling income on YouTube. So one solution for YouTube is to cough up a share to we the video makers.
What's even more odd is that the copyright junk with YouTube happens most often on my best most heavily budgeted and produced videos, which get whited out for ads. It's enough to make me pull out my hair... if I had any!
Watch this video to the end and you'll see the stand alone music credit for Philippo Franchini clear as day! But, despite the full stand alone credit to Philippo, right in the video itself as you'll see, my music rights my Monetize for Adsense for this vid are whited out. This leaves me no income or incentive to promote this awesome, if I do say so myself, video.
HELP FIX YOUTUBE!
I write this piece because I've loved making income from YouTube. I've complained many times to YouTube to no avail so far. I've loved beating the system of Hollywood studios by being able to make my videos, over 1,000 and counting, and post them to YouTube and make money while people enjoy my work. I've loved being able to share news about politics outside the mainstream media and give young kids a voice in their future. But unless broken YouTube is fixed I, and many other talented content creators, will be forced to stop making videos for YouTube.
There's another of our best videos whited out from ads above. Please contact YouTube and ask them to fix their problem. Raise a stink! It's the only way we'll get YouTube to do the obvious: Hire human beings with ears, eyes and hearts to watch the videos make sure the hackers stop messing with our hard-earned money!
