*YOUTUBE ME

Everyone around me pirates music. While many of my peers DO buy the occasional 99 cent MP3, the majority of music listening done around me is conducted via YouTube. If you want to hear a song and you donn’t have the file in your iTunes, it takes about 15 seconds to type the artist and title into Google and click on the first search result that comes up. Wait another 10-15 seconds and you have that song in all of its glory, free of charge (from anyone). Nobody is paying the royalties for those songs to stream on YouTube, but this is what the RIAA is proposing to crack down on.

If you haven’t noticed, more and more songs on YouTube are harder to find and often have disclaimers that read: “Content removed for copyright violation”. Labels ARE creating their own channels on YouTube and uploading selections from their catalogs in high quality for the public to view. But why can’t my friends make a slideshow from our trip to Vegas, embed the latest Jay-Z song as the soundtrack, and upload it for the world to see? Music is a gift to the world and should be shared, regardless of the cost.

If the use of copywritten music on YouTube DOES become more regulated, who will pay the price? The model is based off of ad-supported revenue, so the consumer isn’t going to pay. YouTube could pay royalties but on what scale and with what parameters? ISPs could foot the bill and tack it onto our Internet bills since computers are the main place where YouTube is displayed. But that lets other services that stream YouTube videos off the hook such as BluRay’s new BD-1590 player and the Apple iPad. None of these options can solve the issue. It is only possible to adapt and move forward. More on YouTube coming soon…

-DJ MAGIC