Copyright is defined in the US by the Recording Industry Association America “copyright law protects the value of creative work. When you make unauthorized copies of someone’s creative work, you are taking something of value from the owner without his or her permission… (RIAA Homepage 2012).
The US Copyright Act states on sound recordings…
§ 1101 · Unauthorized fixation and trafficking in sound recordings and music videos
“(a) Unauthorized Acts.—Anyone who, without the consent of the performer or performers involved—
(1) fixes the sounds or sounds and images of a live musical performance in a copy or phonorecord, or reproduces copies or phonorecords of such a performance from an unauthorized fixation,
(2) transmits or otherwise communicates to the public the sounds or sounds and images of a live musical performance, or
(3) distributes or offers to distribute, sells or offers to sell, rents or offers to rent, or traffics in any copy or phonorecord fixed as described in paragraph (1), regardless of whether the fixations occurred in the United States, shall be subject to the remedies provided in sections 502 through 505, to the same extent as an infringer of copyright”.
The Record Industry Association of America states “Federal law provides severe civil and criminal penalties for the unauthorized reproduction, distribution, rental or digital transmission of copyrighted sound recordings. (Title 17, United States Code, Sections 501 and 506)” (RIAA Homepage 2012).
It is therefore illegal under the copyright to make recordings of live performances and distribute them on Youtube regardless of where the performance took place. While @lyndahere fully acknowledges the material which she has filmed it is still a breach of copyright.
Like the Canadian Copyright Act there is a fair usage exception. The US Copyright Office states there are four points to fair usage under sections 107 through 118 of the Copyright Act. “The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole, the effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work”. Under US copyright there is also a concept known as parody exception which is associated with using copyrighted material for creating spoofs or critique.
Like the Canadian Copyright Act there is a fair usage exception. The US Copyright Office states there are four points to fair usage under sections 107 through 118 of the Copyright Act. “The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole, the effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work”. Under US copyright there is also a concept known as parody exception which is associated with using copyrighted material for creating spoofs or critique.
On his webpage “The Most Frequent Copyright Violations” Carnes (2012) writes of copyright in Youtube “Many users upload copyrighted material to websites that do not facilitate file sharing, such as YouTube. Even though these websites do not offer a means to download the copyrighted material, users gain free access to the copyrighted material. Some illegally uploaded YouTube videos featuring copyrighted music include disclaimers invoking the "fair use" exception to copyright protection, which allows anyone to use a small portion of a copyrighted work for certain purposes such as commentary or education. However, the fair use exception does not permit the use of an entire song. The US Copyright Office states there are no number of words lines or images that can be taken without permission that could be used under the fair use exception rule.
YouTube pays half a cent for each hit played. While that doesn’t sound like a lot of money in the case of Lyndahere who has had over a million and a half hits that amounts to approximately $15000 dollars over four years. It is difficult to know how many other sites she has and how much music she is making uploading illegal material onto YouTube. For some enterprising people it may mean a living if enough sites are established and the connections made with consumers out of other people’s work they had no role in creating. For some very successful music artists that amounts to millions of dollars in extra revenue or for others it means missing out on money that is rightfully theirs.
