Jack White and Trent Reznor have joined a long list of artists and music labels who have come together against platforms like YouTube that upload copyrighted work of artists who are neither informed nor paid for it.
The list which includes Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, U2, Vince Staples, Kings of Leon, Carole King and music labels such as the Recording Academy and the Recording Industry Association of America is getting longer as more and more artists are coming together to protect artists’ rights. As reported by Pitchfork, these people have signed
“a petition advocating Congress for reform of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which regulates the circulation of copyrighted work.”
Though the petition does not directly attack YouTube, it indirectly points out that when such platforms allow users to upload the copyrighted content which in turn become available to a large number of people, the artist does not receive any kind of benefit. As reported by Pitchfork,
“Under the DMCA, YouTube and companies like them are given “safe harbor” from copyright infringement lawsuits as long as it complies with takedown notices.”
According to the petition signed by the artists,
“The tech companies who benefit from the DMCA today were not the intended protectorate when it was signed into law nearly two decades ago. DMCA has allowed major tech companies to grow and generate huge profits by creating ease of use for consumers to carry almost every recorded song in history in their pocket via a smartphone, while songwriters’ and artists’ earnings continue to diminish. The law was passed in a technologically out-of-date” era, and also calls for sensible reform that balances the interests of creators with the interests of the companies who exploit music for their financial enrichment.”
Before the artists came together to protest through the petition signing, some people like The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney have been very vocal about the issue. According to Carney,
“I probably can find 250 songs that are available which the artist isn’t getting paid for within five minutes of surfing YouTube”.
Check out the whole list here (via Yahoo):
Last year, Taylor Swift wrote a letter to Apple in which she criticized the company’s idea of providing free music trial to the listeners for three months which also meant three unpaid months for artists. She explained the consequences of such actions and made the brand change the plan.
In an industry where carving a niche for yourself is proving to be difficult day by day, such practices by the platforms like YouTube only makes sustenance difficult for an artist.
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