Thus far, Google has been satisfied to sit on the sidelines, owning the virtual universe and letting the money roll in from their numerous online services, which have always been inventive, versatile and most of all free (and, of course, ad supported). But lately Google has roused from its idle position, not quite content to just sit and be rich anymore.
It appears that the company is now aiming its Death Star-classed dirty looks at YouTube-MP3.org (and other ripping services like them). The site is a service that allows you to scam YouTube (and its uploaders) out of all their hard work by stripping the audio tracks out of the posted videos, to save them as MP3s.
And Google isn’t making money off that service – I mean, Google is upset that these valued contributors are experiencing such a heart-wrenching violation of copyright infringement. Google’s lawyers sent a cease and desist to YouTube-MP3.org, claiming they are violating the YouTube Terms of Service by obtaining, separating and redistributing content they host.
Now, instead of just throwing a fit and threatening to sue the 1.3 visitors a day that these sites entertain, they are at least being responsible enough to get their leagues of smarty-pants minions to figure out how the ripping service accomplishes its dastardly deeds and then scripting in countermeasures to their website code in order to block them.
And now, it seems that the owner of YouTube-MP3.org is upset about these developments. Honestly though, his entire service is based entirely on exploiting a different service that he isn’t paying for. Does he really have the right to be upset about it?
Ok, he can be upset that his website is essentially crippled by Google’s efforts. It’s not like he can fight it legally and insist that YouTube allow his exploitation to continue, but he does have feelings.
I feel it is well within Google’s right to create countermeasures that will protect their free (and ad supported) service. I mean, it is Google that is hosting billions of gigs of data which we get to enjoy for free (did I mention the ads?). The real victims here are the content creators who use YouTube to promote their music.
However, YouTube-MP3.org has posted their defense on their website claiming that copying off of YouTube amounts to the same thing as PVRing your favourite programming off TV (according to German law anyways). They justify this by pointing out that recording devices have always followed the technology that plays media. Because if the technology exists, it can’t be illegal to use it right? They are not using any of YouTube’s technology or API; rather they are recording (or copying) the content using existing technology.
They are now calling on their users to help them – by writing to Harris Cohen, the lawyer representing Google to tell him he is wrong.
So do you feel bad for YouTube-MP3.org? Do you feel bad because you used their services and now (or soon) cannot? Do you think Google/YouTube are within their rights to block these services?
FAIL!! There are so many other ways to do this. Block one, and a dozen more will replace it.
I smell B.S. on Googles part.
Google is probably blocking this for Google play, so they can sell music via Play kinda how iTunes does it. They aren't stupid and aren't out to help anyone, unless it helps them as well. Free rides with Google only go so far.
This article isn't biased or anything.
If they leave it hanging for too long Google will get sued by the music corporations. So this is the expected behavior for corporations.
Yes, you could record in the old days. But those were always lower quality, not near perfect digital copies…
The problem is that Google is sawing its own branch. Youtube gets its content from people who edit and mix video and music. This step will slow the content-creation.
More steps like this and people wont bother creating content for youtube.. they will find other sources and thus other distributionschannels.
most artists don't want you sampling and re-appropriating their music, those that do either state that they do or link to a download of the music. artists who aren't signed with a label or just starting out use youtube as a platform to launch their careers
I agree AlexK I would think this would encourage content creators knowing that the itunes link they offer in the video description is the more viable option than a ripping service. It's one small effort that offers a sense of security in hosting your music there.
However, as mentioned above shutting down one service will only breed another. Killing Napster didn't stop music downloading.
It's potential money being lost, end of story. They don't want to mention the money part because it makes them look greedy and they know it. So, they divert attention to an ad hoc campaign basically equating to "it's not fair to X that Y is doing this, so we're making it fair for X again". Typical business. We get it. But dealing with the fact that it is MP3s, and the majority of people loves them some free MP3s n' gets HulkMadAngry when tey fux wit dat (see history of napster, et al), it is only going to hurt google in the end.
near perfect quality? this service gives you an mp3 that's playable, but high quality? no.
I have to side with google on this one. Ripping a song from youtube is nearly the same as downloading the same song from P2P software such as LimeWire. If you are going to restrict one, you have the restrict the other. Plus google is entitle to do anything they want to with THEIR site, and it seems that people don't realize that Google is a BUSINESS (yes a big business that makes a ton of money, but if a business doesn't continue to show growth, it's considered to be failing to their stockholders). I personally find google to be the lesser of evils when it comes to giant businesses…
It is ridiculous that the website owner got upset about it, he is breaking the law, it's like criminals in prison complaining about the food, erm..no.
Also, who still uses these services, the videos uploaded to YouTube are less than stellar and the audio ripped from them would be, what? 128kpbs? Eww no.
Argh. That website and ones like it are the only way I’ve found to get my hands on a lot of German language music! Now if Itunes, or Google, or Amazon, or SOMEBODY would give us more language options without having to jump through a bunch of hoops (namely, pretending to be from another country, having a fake address in said country, having an entirely separate account that I have to be careful not to accidentally order something in the US from, and other crazy things), I’d be perfectly content to pay for said music. Until they allow me, as a person in the USA, to buy this music, I’m stuck downloading it.
at the end of the day they are breaking the law (UK at least). The law says that users must obide by the terms of corporations and websites set out too them. Youtube's policy is that their content may only be streamed – end of.
What ever Google do to prevent this from happening I could just take a mini-jack-to-mini-jack cable and loop from my headset-out into mic-in and record…. even if that where somehow blocked I think I still have a tape recorder lying around.
So I guess what has google upset is that sites like this (and numerous firefix-plugins) makes it so simple and convenient…