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Trent Reznor: YouTube Is Built On the Back Of Stolen Content (theguardian.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Singer and record producer Trent Reznor has become the latest artist to attack Google's video service YouTube. "I find YouTube's business to be very disingenuous. It is built on the backs of free, stolen content and that's how they got that big," said Reznor in an interview with Billboard. Reznor was not speaking purely as an artist, however. He is also chief creative officer at Apple Music, the streaming service launched by Apple in 2015, which is one of the key rivals to YouTube in the digital music world. "I think any free-tiered service is not fair. It's making their numbers and getting them a big IPO and it is built on the back of my work and that of my peers. That's how I feel about it. Strongly," said Reznor, widening his criticism to other rivals like Spotify in the process.

6 of 428 comments (clear)

  1. So is most music by gurps_npc · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The studios steal from the creators via abusive contracts as much, if not MORE than YouTube steals from the musicians.

    Despising one and not the other is hypocritical.

    Part of the major problem is that the value of music has gone down and musicians dislike that. Music used to be a rare skill that was incredibly expensive to distribute. But distribution costs went down, they refused to lower the price, we found ways to use computers to enhance music (auto tune is just one of many such advancements), and the number of people that want to do it went up.

    How many kids want to be rock stars? They depressed the market causing the prices to drop - it's simple supply and demand.

    The profit went away but it wasn't YouTube's fault.

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  2. Re:Free tier by pghmike4 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Radio is exactly comparable to other free tier (i.e. ad-supported) services. We're talking Pandora, Spotify, and most Internet radio stations, all of which are ad supported and pay royalties. Youtube may have a lot of pirated content (I really don't know how much is being put there by artists, and how much by pirates), but the others pay royalties.

    So, I think Trent is just shilling for his new employer, Apple, which has no free tier for its lame Apple Music service.

  3. Re:Spilled milk by Shadow99_1 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I think the biggest issue is the expansion of 'IP'. Culture builds on what comes before it, it always has and always will. However in 'modern' times we (or more specifically companies) keep trying to lock culture away behind walls of laws about 'IP'. Culture however will do as culture always does and build on what has come before, laws be damned. I have news for the companies as well: Culture will win in the end.

    Though I personally find Trent's comments funny since Youtube's copyright claim system is so badly abused that certain youtuber's, like Jim Sterling, can get companies to fight over the IP shown in brief snippests (most of which is review or satire and so technically protected) within their videos. Look up Jim's 'Copyright Deadlock' video as an example. Or heck look into E3 videos based on the Twitch streams. ItmeJP commented that his Youtube videos got multiple claims within minutes of being uploaded even though the video stream was provided to commentators for use.

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  4. Apple's one to talk. by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Apple's entire resurgence is based off MP3 piracy. Before they made their first smartphone, they made billions off their iPod sales, which were 100% filled with pirated MP3s. Nobody was paying 10k to fill an iPod. Nobody.

    Then when they made their first billion, they started a music service and started charging for music and decried piracy, the very thing that made their entire corporate existence possible.

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    ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
  5. Re: The ego... by mcgrew · · Score: 5, Interesting

    He must hate people like Cory Doctorow and me, who encourage noncommercial sharing of our digital material (but physical copies you have to pay for).

    Not every "content creator" is a selfish, greedy asshole.