Open Letter: Reverse the Content ID Ban on CC Licensed Music
Dear YouTube,
Music shared under CC licenses has been banned from YouTube’s Content ID program, leaving a widening loophole for imposters to claim ownership of musician’s copyrights.
Platforms that use Content ID should respect artists who choose to share their music under CC licenses.
ccMixter artists have freely shared their music with the world. A CC license is simply that, a license. The musicians retain their copyrights, just as any other musicians do.
Due to the Content ID ban, imposters fraudulently claim to own ccMixter’s music. These fraudulent claims slander the copyrights and deny attribution to the musicians who wrote, recorded, and shared their original music.
These illegal claims also unfairly penalize content creators, who rely upon CC licensed music in their projects and comply with the CC license terms. CC licensed music is widely used by content creators across platforms worldwide -- and has been for decades.
Unlike a DMCA takedown notice, there is no recourse for a musician to defend their own copyright in Content ID or to contest a false copyright claim.
The music library at ccMixter is being locked down by these false copyright claims. Because of the Content ID ban, artists’ attribution and royalties are being misappropriated.
Restoring ccMixter’s access to Content ID will:
Protect the music of ccMixter artists from false copyright claims.
Automate attribution for ccMixter music.
Honor content creators’ compliance with CC licensed music.
Enable fair royalty payments.
Keep CC licensed music open for free, creative collaboration.
Content ID is an evolving system. It has simplified copyright claim communications without penalizing content creators. YouTube’s Content ID CMS enables ccMixter to accurately manage claims for its artists.
Content ID can continue to evolve by restoring inclusion of CC licensed music.
Thank you for you consideration.
The ccMixter Community and the undersigned
