YouTube Takes Down Ariana Grande's Manchester Benefit Concert On Copyright Grounds

from the because-of-course dept

Wed, Jun 7th 2017 11:55am — Mike Masnick

At a time when Europe is pushing for much greater filtering and takedowns, it's worth a reminder that these kinds of systems pretty regularly takedown perfectly legitimate content -- either content that is fair use or that is licensed. Case in point: this past Sunday, Ariana Grande held a huge benefit concert in Manchester called One Love Manchester. As you no doubt know, a few weeks back there was a bombing at Grande's concert in Manchester, and her decision to put on a massive benefit concert right back in Manchester just a couple weeks later is impressive.

Except, for at least some period of time, the copyright gods didn't want you to see it. Grande streamed the whole thing via her YouTube account. And... the concert was then promptly shut down by by Warner Music and Sony Music, saying that the stream violated their copyrights.

Ariana Grande lived streamed her #OneLoveManchester concert on @YouTube and WMG and SME filed a copyright takedown notice against her pic.twitter.com/DZjxx8yzNm

— Gabriel Bordeaux (@gabrielbordeaux) June 4, 2017

Now, chances are these were simply ContentID matches that were automated -- rather than direct takedown notices as suggested in the tweet. And the video is now back, so some might argue this is no big deal. However, with the record labels demanding stronger and stronger filters, along with demands that content not just be taken down but then "stay down", stories like this would only get worse and worse, and more and more perfectly legitimate content would get blocked.

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Filed Under: arian grande, contentid, copyright, dmca, filters, notice and staydown, one love manchester, takedown
Companies: sony music, warner music, youtube

31 Comments

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K`Tetch (profile), 7 Jun 2017 @ 11:58am

now THAT would have been something to talk about on the co-shared podcast last week
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J.R., 7 Jun 2017 @ 12:14pm

"sacred" copyright
If there was ever any doubt as to the utter amorality of media groups, this should nail it. Their attitude seem to be: screw charity, screw humanity, screw the dead and their survivors; nothing in life matters but money--for them and them alone.

Did I miss anything?
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Jun 2017 @ 12:47pm

Re: "sacred" copyright
Screw everything that does not add to their bottom line
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Richard (profile), 7 Jun 2017 @ 1:02pm

Re: Re: "sacred" copyright
Screw everything that does not add to their bottom line

and quite a few things that do!
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Jun 2017 @ 1:03pm

Re: Re: "sacred" copyright
This all seems a bit dramatic.

Seems much more likely this was the standard shotgunned "there are no consequence for a mistaken takedown notice", probably done by a bot.

Certainly corrupt and problematic, but hardly the enemy of all life as described.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Jun 2017 @ 1:12pm

Re: Re: Re: "sacred" copyright
The real problem is when it comes time for them to deny this is a real problem. We'll get the same classic lines of this being necessary to protect them from wild, unchecked piracy that will destroy them utterly and this was just another negligible anomaly in the vast sea of anomalies.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Jun 2017 @ 1:13pm

Re: Re: Re: "sacred" copyright
But because they're aware that their standard shotgunning catches things like this all the time and they don't give a shit proves their amorality. If they weren't amoral dirtbags, they'd shut down their automated processes immediately, apologize, and not turn them back on again until they could be sure shit like this would never happen again.
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AricTheRed, 7 Jun 2017 @ 1:17pm

At least now we know who the real terrorists are...
At least now we know who the real terrorists are,

Warner Music & Sony Music
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Jun 2017 @ 1:45pm

It was a Content ID claim, takedowns have a different message.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Jun 2017 @ 2:00pm

$20 says Sony and/or Warner release a statement saying they didn't want the stream live because of the terrorist threat level. That they are saving us from the possibility of terrifying imagery.

Those heroes.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Jun 2017 @ 2:01pm

A very small TV station in a very very small town in New Zealand recently did a 12 hour live music show with 12 bands from said small town. It was broadcast on their channel, also through web-streaming - both of which worked without a hitch.
But they also streamed it live on you-tube...
Bear in mind that the bands that played were all playing their own songs, and that none of them have major label recording contracts, it was very small time stuff. But you-tube cut the audio from the stream after about 2 hours.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Jun 2017 @ 2:31pm

It needn't even be the usual "baddies"...
...right now, the ENTIRE Github repository of the single open source app that can handle Pebble watches and Xiaomi bracelets (that I know of) - Gadgetbridge - has been down for almost a week, because the author of a similar for-pay app allegedly found some screenshots of his app in the "issues" section, allegedly in relation to requests for comparable functionality. Nobody really knows though, because IT'S ALL INACCESSIBLE NOW, taken down via DMCA.
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wereisjessicahyde (profile), 7 Jun 2017 @ 4:37pm

Re: At least now we know who the real terrorists are...
The friends and families of the 22 dead people might disagree.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Jun 2017 @ 5:02pm

I've got to wonder if maybe Ariana Grande and her people might have been behind the bombing in some way. They certainly profited from it, and will likely continue to profit from it for the foreseeable future. I had never even heard of this singer before, and now I can't avoid hearing about her.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Jun 2017 @ 5:58pm

Re:
I've got to wonder if maybe aliens from Pluto and their people might have been behind it.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Jun 2017 @ 5:59pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: "sacred" copyright
"protect them from wild, unchecked piracy that will destroy them"

Yea, you know, it's just so much easier for WMG and SME to say that the "Content ID" system blocked it when the "Content ID" system IS THEM - they blocked it because they don't want to expend any effort; plain and simple.
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Rekrul, 7 Jun 2017 @ 7:16pm

Obviously Ariana Grande didn't have the proper license to post her own music to the net...
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My_Name_Here, 7 Jun 2017 @ 8:13pm

Re:
I know you are trying hard to be funny, but this time you come off as lame.

Asiana may or may not have the rights (depends who actually wrote and owns her songs), but she almost certainly does not have the rights to Justin Beiber's material, nor that of any of the other artists that performed.

When you consider the list of people who appeared, and then consider all of the different entities that are involved, any one of them could have popped a DMCA notice or content ID could have popped for any of them, and boom, it's done.

Streaming something live does not imply rights to keep it online after the fact.

So yeah, next time try thinking a bit.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Jun 2017 @ 8:35pm

Re: Re: At least now we know who the real terrorists are...
All of America, that is, those in America who are Americans, disagree. All of Britain disagrees. That is, all the British in Britain disagree.

Clearly, you are either mentally disturbed or intentionally promoting a separate agenda based on something other than reality.

You deserve public condemnation for your statements. I hope either MI-5 or Tucker Carlson examine your identity and motives and publish the truth about your insensitive and obviously false statements.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Jun 2017 @ 8:40pm

Re:
That is a really terrible thing to say. Why not blame the victims themselves, maybe they wanted to be famous, maybe they wanted to see pictures of their blood splattered on the walls, that makes about as much sense. I still find it unbelievable that thoughtful comments posted on this site by rational individuals are routinely hidden, while this type of garbage content is promoted for all to see. What a sick place this is, home to the un-assimilated garbage of society, and protected by Masnick and his crew of Pirates. Proud of yourself, Masnick?
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Jun 2017 @ 11:42pm

Well, who else was going to protect Ariana Grande from Ariana Grande?
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PaulT (profile), 8 Jun 2017 @ 12:35am

Re: Re:
"thoughtful comments posted on this site by rational individuals are routinely hidden"

You're referring to yourself I assume? Thanks, this subject needed some comedy, and I'm a fan of the absurd.
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PaulT (profile), 8 Jun 2017 @ 12:36am

Re:
You joke, but it's almost certain that this right rests exclusively with her label and not her personally.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Jun 2017 @ 2:40am

Never has Youtube's "meh" smiley been more appropriate.
It's like Youtube's bots going "I know this is dumb but what can you do ?".
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Ninja (profile), 8 Jun 2017 @ 3:52am

I've said it before. Let them have their way in every single aspect. The ensuing chaos and real money losses would make copyright be scrapped and restarted. Until it happens again ins 100 or so years.
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Talmyr (profile), 8 Jun 2017 @ 6:13am

Re: Re:
That's a really sad way to take a good response to a bad bad comment, then totally ruin it with your self-serving whining.

Changed my upvote of your comment to a downvote. Look forward to blocking you more in the future if you keep making asinine comments like this.
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Wendy Cockcroft, 8 Jun 2017 @ 7:11am

Re: Re: Re:
Ms. Grande, whom I knew little about before, has proved to be a kind-hearted, thoughtful person. Even though I've got no interest in her music she seems like a nice kid.

If this situation proves anything, it's that copyright does not benefit musicians and artists, it's for big players like Warner and Sony.
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Wendy Cockcroft, 8 Jun 2017 @ 7:11am

Re: Re:
Most likely as a work-for-hire agreement.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Jun 2017 @ 7:27am

Re: Re:
You better go and find a place better suited to your tastes. I hear breitbart is hiring.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Jun 2017 @ 9:09am

Copyright is a failure.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Jun 2017 @ 6:15pm

Re: Re:
The rest of us do think - that once again, the whole "labels representing wishes of artists" trope is an overused, disproved pile of tripe.

Shouldn't you be writing a love sonnet to your favorite Shiva advocate?
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