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A year or so ago, the music service called UMG apparently filed a copyright claim against a video my son put on his page of him playing the third movement of the Pathetique. I think he was twelve or thirteen at the time of the recording. I filed the usual dispute with Youtube, but was ignored. Then Youtube blocked the video in Germany. One wonders why only Germany, but I digress.

Well, a couple of days ago I got fed up and I sent an email to Youtube. Here it is:



Youtube responded with a very form-like note:



Well, I got a bit snippy ....



This actually got a human response ...



A name!! They actually gave me a real person to contact!! So, I immediately shot an email to Mr. Richardson ....



I realize that honey usually works better than vinegar, but I was peeved at this point.

To my astonishment, this is what I received back ...



Their filter actually thought that this kid was Richter, or whatever performance they actually own. You've got to be kidding me. I thanked Mr. Richardson, but had to add this ...



The block on this video has indeed been removed. All is now right.

But how many amateur videos are being challenged by copyright holders because the filters they use are so poor that they confuse a thirteen year old with Richter. The mind boggles.

To somebody who didn't have to wade through this frustrating year-long hassle, it's actually a pretty funny story! But I'm glad to see a victory of the underdog vs. Great Big Media Company.

Great (and frustrating) story! It's pretty amazing, the whole audio filter thing. Not only does it not seem to work well, but it's evident that no one actually checks the videos that fall into their filter. Had they taken the time to watch 10 seconds of the video they would have seen an amateur (though good) pianist in his home playing a work in the public domain.

The internet never fails to amaze

They always flag my videos, but I just dispute them and it clears up in a day or two.

This is hilarious. Way to go!

Power to the people!

Amazing story! Well done!! Perhaps the filter only checks the first 20 or so seconds and that no errors were in that part?

Great story, and a good laugh! Just another example of how dumb computers are (they do exactly what they are programmed to do, and that's only as good as the programmer).

Wow, that has to be an amazingly primitive filter... if they wanted to (which they apparently don't), they surely could tell the difference between the same concert pianist playing it twice on different pianos, with a short clip, much less a different person on a different piano. They must not care, because it's not costing them anything to block too much.

Is there really a lot of copying on youtube, ripping off their classical recordings, that they have to be so vigilant about?

Good for you, though, on your persistence!

My video of Nocturne in C sharp minor on my youtube channel was claimed by:
Entity: Warner Chappell
Content Type: Musical Composition

I filed the usual dispute, but I was denied (the first time that's every happened, mind you) with this result:
"All content owners have reviewed your video and confirmed their claims to some or all of its content."

These people are not stupid. My playing of the piece is half-decent, but it's damn well not whatever professional recording it's been matched against, and they know that. They know they can monetize these videos somewhat, and the little guy (me, in this case) cannot do anything, so they simply lie and say that they own the content. I wish I had the email address for these guys so I could give them a piece of my mind. I don't think there are any limitations on my video at the moment, but it still peeves me every time I see that "matched third party content" label on my video.

I do understand youtube's position in all of this, but it still annoys me very much.

Wow, that has to be an amazingly primitive filter... if they wanted to (which they apparently don't), they surely could tell the difference between the same concert pianist playing it twice on different pianos, with a short clip, much less a different person on a different piano. They must not care, because it's not costing them anything to block too much.

Is there really a lot of copying on youtube, ripping off their classical recordings, that they have to be so vigilant about?

Good for you, though, on your persistence!

CONGRATS! And well done!

BTW, I have to ask, did that note from Ben really have this typo....


No reason for asking, except for wondering if it gave you an extra smile amidst all the frowns.

Indeed, it did give me an extra chuckle. But typos happen. I think Ben went the extra mile here.

Now, if their filter clamps down again in three days time ..............

Terrific, thanks for sharing that!


The irony is not lost on me...

Two other "firms" have challenged a Mozart sonata movement he put up a few years ago. One is Koch and the other is Believe. Koch backed off, but Believe hasn't bothered to check my protest despite the passage of about a year. Maybe I have to go nuclear on them too.

So...... In order to get Youtube to remove someone's video, all I have to do is claim it is mine?

If you have a qualifying corporation behind you, yes.

Actually, youtube never removed any of these videos. Their little embedded note always said that the video remained available but that viewers might see advertisements in them. The block of the Pathetique video in Germany was the most severe action that has been taken.

How frustrating to have to put up with that nonsense and how satisfying to have it finally resolved. Piano*son is indeed pretty good!