jason (FMA Admin)
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jason on 02/27/2012 at 06:20PM
You(Tube) Can't Copyright a Bird Song / Public Domain Music From Christian Anarchists
YouTube's Content ID system is a fascinating way for rightsholders to "block, monetize, or track viewing metrics." But it's far from perfect. The latest example is an incidental bird song that was falsely identified as copyrighted music. The result? Advertisements got slapped on the video, with revenue going to Google and the purported rightsholder.
The producer took to the web to explain that his nature video was shot "in remote wilderness away from any possible source of music." His slashdot post links to a related incident from 2009.
The 2009 copyfraud incident involved Psalters, a group of Christian anarchists who put all of their music into the public domain. Their music also happens to be quite good, and their 2004 album Us vs Us is now available on the Free Music Archive.
"A band dedicated to making music for God," Psalters are based in Philadelphia's enclave of radical Christianity. Their devotional music has an anti-establishment bent. Their website links to delassified CIA Records and Jesus Radicals alongside indie-pop gospeler Danielson's Sounds Familyre imprint, and they have shared the stage with similarly entrancing Saharan nomads Tinariwen. Psalters have a new album on the way, and details are available on their site accompanied by a full discography. Among psalters' other releases, live at 'Joe's Java' in Wilmington, OH. Currently, only the new album, "carry the bones", and "The Divine Liturgy of the Wretched Exiles" are available.
