How not to get caught for copyright infringement

Video takedowns for copyright infringement are more and more common, and the media companies have the law on their side. How can we make awesome videos if we can't use awesome music?

Awesome music which is legal to use is available from these sites:

http://ccmixter.org/
http://incompetech.com/
http://freepd.com/
http://www.jamendo.com/

PLUS some recommendations from the video comments (thanks, everyone):

http://web.me.com/fatblueman/Fatblueman/Welcome.html
http://remix.kwed.org/
http://theslip.nin.com/
http://www.audionautix.com/
http://tbtmusic.com/
http://rickvanman.byethost32.com/pages/indexpag.html
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=842763
http://www.jmtr.com/drupal/
http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/
http://pajamacrisis.org/

http://modarchive.org/ (for sound modules in MOD format; you'll need to convert them before you can use them in a video editor)

You can suggest more sites you know of in the comments, by sending me a PM, or by posting here:
http://s1.zetaboards.com/rewboss/topic/1456672/
If you're looking for sound effects, try
http://soundsnap.com
(up to 5 downloads a month free).

The music in this video is from ccmixter.org, and was created by wellman using an a capella by Brad Sucks. The title is: "Making Me Nervous The Furious Remix".

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• video
• copyright
• infringement
• music
• DMCA
• digital
• millennium
• act
• deleted
• disabled
• claim

[TechyBen]

Don't use incompetech! Sorry, it seems legit. But false positives still get your video banned. :(

[rewboss]

@TechyBen If you're having problems with false positives on incompetech music, you should get in touch with Kevin McLeod. He's been working very hard with YouTube to get that particular problem sorted, and it only affected a couple of his pieces. Also, the problem wasn't false positives per se, but the lax attitude of claimants who weren't reviewing disputes properly. Incompetech is most definitely legit, and McLeod actually writes music for real movies.

[TwoBadMilosDead]

Don't you think it would be funny that when you click on this video you get a message saying: "This video was removed for copyright infringement"

[rewboss]

@TwoBadMilosDead It would be ironic, yes. It would have had to have been a false claim because in fact this video does not infringe on anyone's copyright.

[thisisyourwakeup]

i recorded a video at a Xmas party with some background music this was then a copyright violation despite the fact that every club and bar has some sort of sound track running and this audio was of blatantly low quality.

[rewboss]

@thisisyourwakeup You're not the first person to be caught out like this, and you won't be the last. If you can tell what music is playing, you can't safely post the video. You can try to file a dispute for "fair use", but if the claimant disagrees, you may have to be prepared to take it to court.

[ArGyProductions]

I'm a Composer / Producer and have created 50 pieces in the past year... I was invited to Monetize my videos about 3 weeks ago and now 90% of my Monetization have been removed o_0 ? I compose everything entirely by myself and whats worse is i've done 'renditions' of long dead composers: Beethoven, Mozart and yet its copyright? seriously WTF.

[rewboss]

@MegaWumba You can use whatever music you want IF you get permission. Same as I can borrow your car IF you give me permission; if you don't, it's theft. It's exactly the same principle. You may think it unfair, but what am I supposed to do about it?