PSA regarding YouTube channel AnimeUnity

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CrackTheSky
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PSA regarding YouTube channel AnimeUnity

Post by CrackTheSky » Fri Dec 11, 2015 4:14 pm

So this has been going around Facebook but nobody's posted it here...I suggested someone do it but no one did so I guess I will :P

Some of you may be familiar with the YouTube channel AnimeUnity. They are a popular YT channel which re-uploads AMVs and has a huge subscriber base. Historically, most AMV editors don't seem to mind it when their videos are uploaded here; besides the large audience, the channel creator gives credit and links to the editor's YT channel.

However, recently AU has decided to start monetizing videos on their account, meaning they are getting paid for the content on their channel. Besides the hugely questionable decision to do this and not distribute payments to the people whose works they are hosting, there's the significantly more worrisome issue of the legality of this in the first place, whether they are the content creators or not (they're not).

In addition, from what I understand of the situation AU is going to sidestep any legal liability should the content on their channel come under fire (and let's be honest, it's likely this will happen sooner or later) and put it all on the content creators. I personally would highly recommend messaging AU and asking them to remove your video(s) from their channel if they've uploaded anything of yours.

Also, here's some entertaining reading material between AU and Koopiskeva, which pretty much highlights how many editors I know seem to feel right now.

I may be missing some key details, or be misinformed on some things, so other editors please feel free to chime in if I'm mistaken anywhere.

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Re: PSA regarding YouTube channel AnimeUnity

Post by AceD » Fri Dec 11, 2015 5:09 pm

From what I'm told this is what you're meant to sign
Spoiler :
With YouTube's increasing policies on content ID and copyrighted content we are asking editors if they can agree to these terms relating to your association with this channel:

"I hereby acknowledge emitting all rights of use to AnimeUnity, and thus grant AnimeUnity a perpetual non-exclusive world-wide license (not ownership) to display, promote, or modify my content for commercial use."
Whether signing some shit like this holds any merit I would not know, but an amv editor certainly doesn't have any right to grant the usage of the footage or music for commercial use.

He's been partnered with a YT MCN network for almost 2 years now as far as I know..combined with the ad-fly links and the attempt and adding donations to the channel a while a go....it's hardly a surprise to see this happen is it.

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Re: PSA regarding YouTube channel AnimeUnity

Post by TritioAFB » Fri Dec 11, 2015 9:24 pm

It was a matter of time that an uploader would start monetizing the amvs when everyonr knows that's just impossible in this moment.

That's why I dont trust any of them (my opinion)
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Re: PSA regarding YouTube channel AnimeUnity

Post by seasons » Sat Dec 12, 2015 1:28 pm

I can barely understand any of AU's responses in that transcript.

Whether it's by design or actually an unintentional failure of communication, making yourself completely unintelligible is a pretty good long-term strategy for dodging the question (while at least looking like you're answering it) and avoiding ever having to take any kind of responsibility for what you're doing with other people's work.
[3:35:04 PM] AnimeUnity: we are asking individual editors the state of the channel and removing videos based on their response
Aside from the fact that this misses the whole point of who can actually give permission to monetize AMVs, what does this even mean?

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Re: PSA regarding YouTube channel AnimeUnity

Post by CrackTheSky » Sun Dec 13, 2015 12:25 am

seasons wrote:Whether it's by design or actually an unintentional failure of communication, making yourself completely unintelligible is a pretty good long-term strategy for dodging the question (while at least looking like you're answering it) and avoiding ever having to take any kind of responsibility for what you're doing with other people's work.
That's pretty much the vibe I got from the whole exchange as well :/

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Re: PSA regarding YouTube channel AnimeUnity

Post by SheeGee » Sun Dec 13, 2015 2:13 pm

It amazes me how easy it is in this community to publish a private Skype chat between two people. In every YouTube community I've been a part of, that has been considered really low and people who've attempted to "expose" someone using this method has usually been deemed as someone you can't trust. That is just my experience being all over YouTube. Do I deem Koop as someone I can't trust with a private Skype chat? A little but, I'll probably never have a Skype chat with him so it doesn't matter much to me.

Also, it's nearly impossible for anyone to monetize AMVs. I'm partnered with an MCN (Maker Studios) and I made the mistake from an earlier video before being partnered of using a song without permission. What ends up happening is this: http://prntscr.com/9dqyfd YouTube's sensitive content ID automatically made it so no matter how hard I try, I cannot make money off ad revenue. What does happen is that the actual owner of the audio earns any ad revenue I get from views.

Is it possible that some AMVs to fly under YouTube's content ID radar and AnimeUnity made some money off of those AMVs? Maybe. Is it possible that all the AMVs have been matched by YouTube's content ID? Maybe. Those "maybe" answers aren't definitive enough to cause an uproar.
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Re: PSA regarding YouTube channel AnimeUnity

Post by AceD » Sun Dec 13, 2015 2:43 pm

SheeGee wrote:Also, it's nearly impossible for anyone to monetize AMVs.
Heres 10 amv. Anyone could monetise 8 of them.
Spoiler :
Image
It's not hard you know, and farrrr from impossible. Tons of amv don't even get a third party match. So when you're a mass uploader....it wouldn't be hard to cherry pick such videos you know.
Which is ignoring the fact It's not impossible to monetise the matched ones either...just not 'legal' how you do it.

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Re: PSA regarding YouTube channel AnimeUnity

Post by SheeGee » Sun Dec 13, 2015 3:28 pm

Not necessarily.

Going back to my video that I can't monetize, here's what happens when I go into the monetized tab: http://prntscr.com/9ds9bm
Compare that to another one of my videos that I am currently making money off: http://prntscr.com/9dsa11
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Re: PSA regarding YouTube channel AnimeUnity

Post by AceD » Sun Dec 13, 2015 3:32 pm

SheeGee wrote:Not necessarily.

Going back to my video that I can't monetize, here's what happens when I go into the monetized tab: http://prntscr.com/9ds9bm
Compare that to another one of my videos that I am currently making money off: http://prntscr.com/9dsa11
and heres what I get
Spoiler :
Image
Im not willing to go further then that screen for obvious reasons, but just because YOU can't do it..does not mean others don't know how.

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Re: PSA regarding YouTube channel AnimeUnity

Post by SheeGee » Sun Dec 13, 2015 3:48 pm

Again that is all just a assumption. He could try making the money off an AMV or he won't. Will he take the risk of making money off an AMV? Maybe, maybe not. He was vague about everything in the chat log, regardless of if the editor consented to letting him upload.

Maybe like he said in the chat log that he'll only make money off videos of his own creation and not the actual AMVs themselves. There's too many things left in the dark. And if he already took down a video of yours, it's not really your business anymore. And like I said, all these maybes are not enough to really get riled up over.

I won't make a final outcry until I see a lawsuit put into place by a musical artist or a studio against him.
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