YouTube, Freedom of Speech and Let’s Play

Screenwriter and cultural commentator Kevin Smith has declared his support for content creators on YouTube, who are currently facing a barrage of copyright notices that threaten their livelihood.

Speaking on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight in Canada, the writer of Clerks, Chasing Amy and Dogma said that creators ought to be allowed to use game assets to make new content. In the past week, YouTube has issued thousands of copyright notices to video makers, often generated by music companies seeking to secure advertising revenues from the shows’ popularity.

A new organization has been formed to help streamline the copyright process for makers of Let’s Play videos on YouTube.

WhoLetsPlay is seeking to centralize information about games companies and how they treat content creators who use video game footage to create reports, walkthroughs, reviews and Let’s Plays for free distribution.

The more you dig into this story of a YouTube copyright feeding frenzy against makers of Let’s Play videos, the more you seem to find villains.

Of course, everybody involved is pointing at someone else, claiming innocence for themselves or, at least, noble intentions. The makers of the videos are being portrayed as irresponsible mavericks, ignorant of copyright laws, grasping revenues off the back of other people’s work. The big games companies are being demonized as clunking robots, operated by callous lawyers, hell bent on stifling creativity. YouTube is a misguided machine, adrift from the needs of its human channel operators.

One of the biggest mysteries surrounding the recent YouTube copyright sweep, is why so many music rights holders have been claiming revenues from makers of video game Let’s Plays and even from developers promoting their trailers on YouTube.

Indmusic and TuneCore seem to be two of the most active claimants against video makers, filing multiple claims and, in doing so, diverting revenues away from the game makers and towards themselves and their partners.

YouTube has contacted presenters of video game Let’s Plays and Walkthroughs to explain its new crackdown on alleged copyright infringements.

In the last week, many owners of successful YouTube channels, which profile and report on video games, have been hit with multiple notices from YouTube, claiming various copyright transgressions. The notices, generated by YouTube’s automatic Content ID system, have been controversial, because they sometimes make claims on behalf of games companies that have given permission for content to be used, and sometimes from companies with dubious or tenuous connections to the copyrights.

At the center of this week’s confusing thicket of news and outrage surrounding YouTube video game copyright sweep is a very simple issue.

It’s about freedom-of expression and the ability of critics, commentators and journalists to speak to large numbers of people without fear of reprisals or restrictions from corporations.

Many of the thousands of copyright infringement notices sent out to YouTube game video producers this week have originated from companies not obviously connected with games, very often music rights holders.

This has caused bewilderment among the producers who, in the last few days, have found advertising revenues from their Let’s Play and walk-through videos diverted to companies making copyright claims, often with a tenuous connection to the videos in question.

Claims by a company called 4GamerMovie against YouTube videos featuring Deep Silver games, including Metro: Last Light, have been lifted, according to the games publisher.

Game video producers on YouTube have been hit with a wave of copyright claims in the last few days, as YouTube seeks to tighten up its rules. YouTube says it is merely enforcing copyright violations. However, producers say some of the claims are arbitrary.

Outrage and confusion have descended on the world of Let’s Plays and YouTube video game content this week, following a flurry of copyright claims that have left some of the Internet’s biggest star presenters bewildered.

Even the biggest producers, some of whom have millions of subscribers and who belong to large networks like Machinima, have been hit with a blitz of claims, diverting revenues from their work to copyright claimants. The issue is confused by complex laws and procedures and by the opacity of YouTube’s activities.

Nintendo is now claiming ad revenue on user-generated “Let’s Play” videos that feature the game company’s content, according to YouTube user Zack Scott who received a “content ID match claim” issued by Nintendo.

As a result, Let’s Play videos using Nintendo content will be bookended by ads while content-creators will not receive any revenue for the videos.