Musicians Petition YouTube Over Copyright Rules

June 23, 2016

  • Some of the biggest musicians in the industry have signed a petition to get internet content distributors to change their copyright laws. No, not to allow more fair use, like so many YouTube content creators have been demanding of late under the hashtag #WTFU (Where’s the Fair Use) — in fact, it’s completely the opposite. Billboard reports that 180 high profile musicians, including Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney, Jack White, Garth Brooks, and more, have signed a petition that is running as a full page ad in Washington, DC magazines The Hill, Politico, and Roll Call and is aimed at getting American lawmakers to strengthen the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA. This is a pretty thorny story. On the one hand, if you’re a small content creator and you’ve ever had your content stolen, you know how painful it can be, and you might be grateful to the big names in the music industry for standing up to Congress to protect artists big and small. On the other hand, these are big names in the music industry — people who don’t exactly need more money — so why are they being paranoid about losing revenue to the occasional YouTuber who includes 30 seconds of copyrighted music in their videos? Those are both extreme interpretations. It’s likely that the real truth lies somewhere in the middle, and it’s probably unhealthy to speculate on the intentions of 180 people you’ve never met. What do you think? Is this a case of stars standing up for the little guy, or is it millionaires getting greedy? Let us know in the comments below or @WhatsTrending on Twitter!