Google Bars Site That Converts YouTube Songs Into MP3s

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Google Bars Site That Converts YouTube Songs Into MP3s

Posted by timothy on Tuesday June 19, 2012 @03:54AM from the see-previous-article-about-streaming dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Google is apparently cracking down on a popular site that converts the music from YouTube videos into MP3s. YouTube-MP3.org has received a letter from Google, YouTube's parent company, notifying the site operators that converting videos this way violates YouTube's terms of service, according to the blog TorrentFreak, which said it has seen the letter. In addition, YouTube apparently has blocked YouTube-MP3.org's servers from accessing the site."

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Re:How stupid, and useless by houstonbofh · 2012-06-19 04:02 · Score: 5, Funny

This seems to be an easier tool for the non-technical to use, and therefore would open it up to a wider audience. Costing record companies billions of dollars and funding terrorism, of course.
Browser Extensions by SJHillman · 2012-06-19 04:03 · Score: 4, Informative

What about sites that host browser extensions/add-ons/plug-ins? Opera, Chrome and Firefox all have extensions that will do this right from the YouTube page with a single click.
1. Re:Browser Extensions by tlhIngan · 2012-06-19 04:34 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Most of those actually use an interim server like the one in the article to make the conversion, so could be blocked. Even those that don't frequently have problems. Youtube keeps adjusting the way it streams the media files to try and optimize overall bandwidth use and performance, and every time they make a change it breaks the plugins for a few days. That said, I don't think they can outright block them without blocking the media itself; a browser that allowed websites to query every plugin installed would be a serious security threat.
  Actually, it's really easy to do it yourself, and it works extremely well in Firefox. It'll work with most sites and is unblockable basically. The sites it won't work with are sites that do exclusive streaming (no caching and play/pause/rewind/etc requires are handled by the server which changes its bitstream) and sites that break the video into tiny segments and the player dynamically changes the quality.
  What you need is a firefox extension called "Live HTTP Headers" that lets you see HTTP headers as they scroll by, and something like Flashblock or NoScript that prevents running of flash (HTML5 video isn't that prevalent yet and only big ones like YouTube, Vimeo and Dailymotion support it while everyone else still uses flash).
  The method is to load the page up, then open the Live HTTP Header window. Click the flash player and let it load and start the video. One of the things Live HTTP Headers will have captured is... the URL for the media (look for MIME type video/flv or video/mp4). Copy that URL and paste it in a browser tab (which also gives you cookies). If you don't have a handler, it'll ask to download. If you do, block the site temporarily and use NoScript to right-click and download it.
  This method works because it relies on the fact that most video sites retrieve video via HTTP or HTTPS (could be a Flash limitation) rather than streaming the video (which requires server work) and using HTTP/HTTPS makes it more CDN-friendly since it's a static file.
Re:How stupid, and useless by Instine · 2012-06-19 04:05 · Score: 4, Insightful

its an exercise in ass covering.

--
Because you can - or because you should?
Re:How stupid, and useless by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2012-06-19 04:06 · Score: 5, Insightful

It is trivial to extract the audio from a youtube video and convert it to an mp3. There are tools on Windows, Linux, and OSX that can do that without a lot of effort. So, shutting down this site is, IMO, an exercise in futility.
I suspect that you are underestimating the degree of laziness, technical ignorance, and futzing-with-youtube-on-computers-they-can't-install-stuff-on-because-they-are-at-work/school, at play here.

Obviously, Google knows that you can do whatever you damn well want with the video once you've downloaded it(and, while they receive no further ad revenue, it also doesn't cost them anything further, and they have no way of going after you, so they aren't going to bother).

I suspect, though, that Google takes a dim view of tools, usable even by morons, that eat their bandwidth, throw away any ads they serve, and quite possibly upset the RIAA and friends without any benefit to Google.
Re:How stupid, and useless by Anonymous Coward · 2012-06-19 04:08 · Score: 4, Insightful

It is trivial to extract the audio from a youtube video and convert it to an mp3. There are tools on Windows, Linux, and OSX that can do that without a lot of effort. So, shutting down this site is, IMO, an exercise in futility.

True. It's also pretty damn easy to recover the .avi, .mp4, or .flv video and process it client-side. Whether it infringes copyright or not, what you do with ffmpeg on files that reside client-side, etc., is your problem, not Google's.
Where this website crossed the line is in trying to monetize it by being a wrapper around YouTube.
Full disclosure: My position on the issue can be summarized as "fuck streaming." Streaming media is the memory hole of 1984. For free/fan-based content that doesn't infringe (e.g. fair use), it's nice to know that you can keep your favorite content, even after your friends deactivate their accounts, or if a lawyer claiming ownership of a 2-second sample in a 3-minute video disagrees with you.
And not a single f**k was given... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-06-19 04:12 · Score: 5, Informative

Cloud:
- Keepvid: http://keepvid.com/
- Vixy: http://vixy.net/
- Saveyoutube: http://saveyoutube.com/
- Savevid: http://www.savevid.com/
- More: www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=youtube+video+download
Firefox addons:
- Download Flash and Video: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/download-flash-and-video/?src=search
- YouTube Download: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-download/?src=search
- 1-Click YouTube Video Download: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1-click-youtube-video-download/?src=search
- Download YouTube Videos as MP4 and FLV: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/download-youtube/?src=search
- More: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/search/?q=firefox+download&appver=&platform=
Chrome extentions:
- YouTube Downloader: MP3 / HD Video: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hokfcbmfpgeajcgkaeigohghnkhjmcbj
- FVD Video Downloader: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/lfmhcpmkbdkbgbmkjoiopeeegenkdikp
Manually:
- HOWTO: Download FLV videos from YouTube manually: http://inspirated.com/2007/08/24/howto-download-flv-videos-from-youtube-manually
Dear Google,
give up. LOL, noobs...
Regards,
NotASingleF**k.
Sensationalist Title by Haedrian · 2012-06-19 04:14 · Score: 4, Insightful

I don't see why this article is of interest.
A site does something which goes against youtube's TOS - Google changes something in Youtube to block it - and sends a letter to the owner of the website. So?
If you Google it - you still get search results, and Google didn't do any tricks which we find immoral.
Why is this an article? What were we expecting? How could Google have dealth with it better?
Re:Funny block... by Mia'cova · 2012-06-19 04:20 · Score: 5, Insightful

They're blocking their servers from downloading the videos. They aren't removing it from their search results. That's exactly what I'd do in their case. They'll simply feed it URLs, see who connects to download the video, block the IP, and repeat.
This seems like a complete non-story to me. But then, I've never heard of that site before. If it is actually popular, I can see why that alone would make it news-worthy. As a technical person, I'd look for a browser plugin to download the video, then a desktop app to rip the audio. Searching for a website which automates the process wouldn't have even occurred to me. It's funny how being technical can cause you to miss the boat on some trends just because the problem addressed was just never a problem for you in the first place..
Re:How stupid, and useless by ZorinLynx · 2012-06-19 04:50 · Score: 4, Insightful

This is why I save EVERYTHING that I really like. You can't count on anything online still being there tomorrow, much less ten years down the road.
Especially if it's something not many people care about. This is why people like Jason Scott (from textfiles.org) are my heroes.
Re:Funny block... by ccguy · 2012-06-19 05:21 · Score: 4, Insightful

Anyone who can't figure out how to download the video for himself, then rip an MP3 from the video, doesn't deserve to listen to the music
That's like saying anyone who can't figure out how to install a tap doesn't deserve water.

This kind of attitude LOWERS the value of technical people. You are basically saying that this is the standard that separate the normal people from the retards.
Re:How stupid, and useless by markg11cdn · 2012-06-19 07:25 · Score: 4, Informative

Especially if it's something not many people care about. This is why people like Jason Scott (from textfiles.org) are my heroes.
Err, I think you mean textfiles.com. Unless you meant to point at the domain squatter instead...