Pony Music Getting Copyright Claims and Dealing with such Claims

[Carbon Maestro 1,003]

More of the same story is covered on EQD, but as a musician myself, let me tell you what you be aware of when you're posting a youtube video on music.

 

Bascially, youtube's automated program detects visual and audio content automatically for content ID. In this case, only vectors similar to the style of MLP:FiM's vectors or pony music will raise the flag of content ID. It's honestly been going on for some of the pony animations, it's just that it hasn't been reported by the animators themselves.

 

But let me make it clear: Hasbro isn't trying to shut down the fandom with copyright claims.

 

First of all, if you want to make a youtube video, you'll want to make sure the audio and visual part of your video has the following:

• Permission from the artist or musician OR you own these parts.
• Must not resemble the show to the point where it could be mistaken for the show
• Disclaimers aren't enough. You need permission.
• Permission, permission, permission!

It seems to be the case that anything that is mistaken for the show will be C&D'd, so the Discord remix by the Living Tombstone is pretty much safe because the artwork and audio is so different from the show's, no one is going to mistake it as such.

 

Second, this is more of a Youtube content ID issue rather than a Hasbro issue. This has been going on for months in the gaming community on Let's Play gamers, so it is only a matter of time before it gets to the audio as well. It's rather annoying that this fandom has decided that any time something bad happens, it must be Hasbro, when Youtube and by extension Google has been screwing around with this issue in a far more malicious manner.

 

Lastly, I'll share with you an animation that used to be on my channel (Now taken down for reasons below).

 

Apparently Youtube's content ID system "matched" Tavilicious with Hasbro Studio's vectoring style that the ponies have in the show. The visuals are usually what causes the content ID match. As for audio remixes, if you're using stems that were said in the show, chances are good that Content ID will eventually find a match and they'll flag it. This doesn't mean a takedown, but rather a disabling of youtube money to the owner of the channel. Too many monetization claims will result in Youtube "delaying" the monetization process for new videos, meaning that it may take a few days for Youtube to verify your account that you aren't cheating with copyrighted content. This does suck for those who rely on Youtube for a living because the owner loses the first 2-3 days of Youtube views, which in turn is a loss of money for the owner.

 

In order to get monetization to NOT be delayed, I deleted the animation videos. Youtube resumed monetization for me, and the copyright claims went away.

 

Don't blame Hasbro. But don't worry about it as well, plenty of music will still be on. Just be sure to change the art to not include copy-paste cutouts of the ponies from the show and don't take clips from the show, which should be common sense stuff.

 

If you have anymore to add, please share your experiences.

Edited June 18, 2014 by Carbon Maestro

[Khaoios 1,970]

Great post, Maestro.  As a director, myself, i'll keep this thread intact,

[Pinkamena-Pills 6,839]

*sigh* ... Youtube. Thanks for the info as i don't bother with EQD much!

 

Hope this doesn't get out of hand..but knowing that stupid automated program...

[Scootalove 10,689]

I guess this doesn't sound too bad. Hopefully, this does not get out of control.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

A HUGE thank you for posting this!

 

Various gaming channels on YouTube have been dealing with this issue for a long time now. One of the more famous exampled was Angry Joe, and he has a few videos detailing the issue.

 

Just a big mess, but I can see why it's going this way. Not really Hasbro's fault.

[Steve 290]

this is why people think the fandom is dying

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

this is why people think the fandom is dying

 

It has nothing to do with that as various other randoms & such are being affected by this. As I said, gamer channels have had to deal with this for some time now.

[Carbon Maestro 1,003]

It has nothing to do with that as various other randoms & such are being affected by this. As I said, gamer channels have had to deal with this for some time now.

I concur. In this situation Hasbro has made a deal with Youtube clearly stating not to takedown most of the original videos, but rather monetize them. I think it's a bit wrong for Youtube to do such a thing as Hasbro now receives ad revenue for audio content that isn't theirs, but given that Content ID favors large corporations over individuals, it's an unfortunate reality.

 

A better solution is if an actual person from google (Or a large enough group of users) flag something for copyright rather than an automated machine deciding what to do.

Edited June 18, 2014 by Carbon Maestro

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

The issue that is faced with the silva hound video however, is that it does not contain any sound bites from the show or other MLP works, it does not contain any visual images from the show, the only thing that really ties it to ponies at all, is the fact that it uses the word "hooves". This is were the outrage is coming from, not from hasbro rightfully taking down things that do use stolen assets, but that silva's song did not use anything from the show itself or any other licensed mlp media.

 

so a lot of confusion is generated as to how or why this was flagged, as it does not contain any thing from hasbro's copywrited media.

 

The original variant of the song for those interested.

[Khaoios 1,970]

It has nothing to do with that as various other randoms & such are being affected by this. As I said, gamer channels have had to deal with this for some time now.

 

Yup..........especially us Halo players.....we get bashed all the time by ours truly, Microsoft,

[RubyVesper 100]

And this is why YT needs to SERIOUSLY change its copyright business. Sure, there can't be people to deal with every average joe's copyright problems, but there are many people who rely on YouTube for a living, give YouTube a large portion of the money in the process, and in return, get fucked over by YouTube. Entire huge channels were taken down for "copyright strikes", everyone's monetization is being disabled because of "suspicious click activity" and if two or three assholes decide to flag your videos, good luck. These have huge results, but what do you get when you seek help? A robot! An automated response generated by a computer with the abilities of a retarded cockroach. You need to be in an external network that has direct contact with YouTube and NAG them to death to be able to do anything about things that shouldn't have happened in the first place. YouTube recently said that monetizing gameplay of any kind is allowed, even if you don't have permission from the owner, as long as the commentary is related to what is happening on screen. This, I believe, is a step in the right direction, but it's a VERY small one. We need large measures, now, to prevent bullshit like this from spreading and ruining the internet society that we are building.

 

YouTube, hire people to check on this shit.

[Carbon Maestro 1,003]

The issue that is faced with the silva hound video however, is that it does not contain any sound bites from the show or other MLP works, it does not contain any visual images from the show, the only thing that really ties it to ponies at all, is the fact that it uses the word "hooves".

 

I don't think this is the song flagged. It was the Seventh Element song.

 

Which is really puzzling, considering that I don't see or hear content at all from the show. The only thing I can think of that the automated Content ID catches is the Pinkie outline (Easier for the content ID to pickup over the original Silva Hound one) matches too much of the show.

Like I said in another post, "Content ID doesn’t make a distinction on the type of use whether or not it’s fair use. Companies on Youtube can either block things, or get all the advertising revenue."

 

In this case Hasbro probably automatically decide to opt in for ad revenue. It appears this is a computer issue on Youtube's side.

 

 

 

Entire huge channels were taken down for "copyright strikes", everyone's monetization is being disabled because of "suspicious click activity" and if two or three assholes decide to flag your videos, good luck.

And that is why MCNs were created for the Youtube creators (Particularly those with thousands of subscribers) so that videos can never be taken down my any single individual. It does work to an extent, but there is a lot of favoritism towards the channels with 1 million+ subscribers.

Edited June 18, 2014 by Carbon Maestro

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

I don't think this is the song flagged. It was the Seventh Element song.

 

Which is really puzzling, considering that I don't see or hear content at all from the show. The only thing I can think of that the automated Content ID catches is the Pinkie outline (Easier for the content ID to pickup over the original Silva Hound one) matches too much of the show.

Like I said in another post, "Content ID doesn’t make a distinction on the type of use whether or not it’s fair use. Companies on Youtube can either block things, or get all the advertising revenue."

 

In this case Hasbro probably automatically decide to opt in for ad revenue. It appears this is a computer issue on Youtube's side.

But then why did it not flag the version I posted, were the pinkie outline is far more clear, and even in the correct color. And that is where a lot of the confusion and anger is coming in at. The system that is supposed to pick up on it, picked the version that is harder to tell with the human eye that it is copywrited media. (as the original is both in pink, and fully lighted, as opposed to the darkened and grainy shadows used in the remix). And people are getting mad at hasbro for choosing to op in ad revenue, as it can be both illegal, and unfair. Youtube's system needs to be checked, as it can break various laws without the companies knowledge.

[Dark Qiviut 22,401]

 

 

The only thing I can think of that the automated Content ID catches is the Pinkie outline (Easier for the content ID to pickup over the original Silva Hound one) matches too much of the show.

Wrong, actually. Silva Bound got struck only for the audio. This Twitter chain confirms it.

[Carbon Maestro 1,003]

 

 

But then why did it not flag the version I posted, were the pinkie outline is far more clear, and even in the correct color. And that is where a lot of the confusion and anger is coming in at. T

 

Because you're a human and smart, while computers are stupid. It's rather annoying, but I don't think this is an isolated case. I don't think it's unfair for Hasbro to opt in for ad revenue, as that's much better than Warner Bros. who take down absolutely everything related to their franchises, but yes, Youtube still needs to fix these issues.

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

Because you're a human and smart, while computers are stupid. It's rather annoying, but I don't think this is an isolated case. I don't think it's unfair for Hasbro to opt in for ad revenue, as that's much better than Warner Bros. who take down absolutely everything related to their franchises, but yes, Youtube still needs to fix these issues.

If I were hasbro I would not want to opt in for ad revenue, as a court can easily take that as you claiming ownership, and with how often the youtube system has been shown to fuck up it is just asking for the worst possible thing to happen.

And as DQ said, silva only got struck for the audio. So I am still very confused as to how their system even flagged this. With such a public blowup like this, and with the previous ones I really don't understand why youtube doesn't fix it's system.

[Mae Borowski 356]

ive had copyright claims made by fake companies, people, agencies, and whatnot...Youtubes content ID(iot) is by far the most hated thing on youtube...back when it first released, Nintendo had a hayday claiming all nintendo lets plays, and anything to do with their company(which is why, in my opinion...nintendo is dumb, basically lets plays are like free advertising of your game)...

[Carbon Maestro 1,003]

Wrong, actually. Silva Bound got struck only for the audio. This Twitter chain confirms it.

Did it now? Forgive me if I'm wrong, but further down the conversation, didn't Silva himself say it's not his video that's of concern?

 

That's very bizzare that he got one for audio content. I feel like none of us are getting the whole story.

 

Also, I think his "manager" is sending a C&D to Silva because he's part of a music label and he's not supposed to reference any copyrighted content (ie from companies). Separate issue, really.

Edited June 18, 2014 by Carbon Maestro

[Dark Qiviut 22,401]

 

 

Did it now?

Yes. And even the screenshot you posted confirms this. The "Includes" is why Silva Bound's upload was hit with the ContentID match, and the only reason listed is "audio content." In other words, the music. If it was something like the visuals, then chances are the reason would be different.

 

 

 

but further down the conversation, didn't Silva himself say it's not his video that's of concern?

That has more to do with where the remix was uploaded and who (Seventh Element YT channel), but Bound has a lot to do with the audio content.

[~DEATHMONGER~ 36]

But there's a tonne of full episodes on YouTube, they've been there for ages...?

[Carbon Maestro 1,003]

Yes. And even the screenshot you posted confirms this. The "Includes" is why Silva Bound's upload was hit with the ContentID match, and the only reason listed is "audio content." In other words, the music. If it was something like the visuals, then chances are the reason would be different.

 

 

 

That has more to do with where the remix was uploaded and who (Seventh Element YT channel), but Bound has a lot to do with the audio content.

I see. That, I'm afraid, must be a mistake in the Youtube Content ID system. Interesting how it happened that way.

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

I see. That, I'm afraid, must be a mistake in the Youtube Content ID system. Interesting how it happened that way.

From what it sounds like, with a anon who works for a MCN, it is most likely that Silva had it tagged with the word brony (a word that hasbro again does not own specific rights to) and auto sent out a claim.

 

So it sounds like their system didn't directly flag it, but a paralegal employed by Hasbro just sent out an auto claim because the video was tagged with the word brony, and it was being monitized. So I guess we can chalk this up to either a faulty system, or lazy paralegals.

 

edit: To simply what most likely happened, youtube's automated system sends a automated message to the MCN that Hasbro hires out to handle their online copywrite stuffs. Some entry level guy is tasked with deciding if the sent links that the youtube system pulled up actually violate copywrite or not. Often, the queues are massive, so they end up clicking a zillion times, hit yes instead of no once, and we get an event like this.

Edited June 18, 2014 by Miaq_The_Truthful