RIAA Forces YouTube to Remove Free Guitar Lessons

Bushido Hacks write "Is it so wrong to learn how to play the guitar? According to NPR, a record company ordered YouTube to remove videos of a man who offered to show people how to play the guitar for free. One of the songs that he taught was copyrighted, and as a result over 100 of his videos were removed from the internet. 'Since he put his Web site up last year, he has developed a long waiting list for the lessons he teaches in person. And both he and Taub say that's still the best way to learn. If someone tells Sandercoe to take down his song lessons, he says he will. But his most valuable videos are the ones that teach guitar basics -- things like strumming, scales and finger-picking. And even in the digital age, no one holds a copyright on those things.' How could this constitute as infringement if most musicians usually experiment to find something that sounds familiar?"

Re:This bit is always amusing...

[sincewhen]

Don't they need a steady influx of "talent" to exploit?

Perhaps they are afraid that we will learn that http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anyone_Can_Play_Guita r [wikipedia.org].

Oh, I weep for the future.

[OmgTEHMATRICKS]

Future headline:

NO MORE GUITARISTS - ALL TEACHERS SUED
RIAA innocently shrugs shoulders and says, "wot?"

Re:Fair use

[Anonymous Coward]

He's not just putting pirating instructions on YouTube, but also owns a intellectual property infringement device. He should be jailed.

Baby Seal Analogy

[Nom du Keyboard]

Every time a record company issues a takedown notice like this, God downloads another song to all the P2P networks.

Re:Fair use

[Anonymous Coward]

B#m, AKA Cm? :)

Re:Fair use

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not that we don't get it. We just don't find it funny.

I'm waiting...

[TheDarkener]

I'm waiting for the RIAA to turn on its own artists and sue them for playing at a party or something where they didn't collect revenue from the attendees who witnessed them playing RIAA copyrighted material.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

The Future Of Life.....

[IHC Navistar]

Given the amount of power that media industry organizations have been given, I predict:

1. The Red Cross will copyright blood, an prohibit its usage without written consent.
2. The SAG will trademark all acting, including lying to your parents about where you were last night.
3. The MPAA will claim ownership of all video recordings.
4. The RIAA will claim ownership of all audio recordings.
5. No work, of any type, will be allowed without the explicit approval of the Teamsters.
6. No one may participate or watch baseball, despite it being the national sport, without written consent from the MLB.
7. Everyone must change their name to John or Jane Doe, becuase all other names will be trademarked.
8. Sexual intercourse will be classified as "Unauthorized Genetic Experimentation", and prosecuted as such.
9. ASCAP will copyright the concept of the "Birthday Party".
10. The AKC will trademark the term 'Dog'.
11. All colors will be trademarked.
12. All smells will be trademarked.
13. Someone will patent 'Oxygen' and all of its allotropes.
14. You will have to pay a royalty fee for waking up in the morning.
15. Languages will be copyrighted/trademarked.

I hope I die before people in the United States are forced to wear neutral gray clothing, live in neutral gray colored houses, speak in monotone voices, and communicate using hand gestures because everything else will have been copyrighted, patented, or trademarked.

I wonder why they are called 'royalties'..... Is it because the rights-holders like to feel as if they are kings over everybody else?

Re:Fair use

[Admiral Ag]

Old and busted.

Carlos Mencia already did that.

Re:This is Madness - eradicate all copyright!

[whoop]

What would be truely fairest of them all is if supermarket stockers could get a fair living wage without the burdens of having to work for it. The stress of having to show up at the store on time, perform a job adequately, etc is crushing the artistic spirit of billions of people around the world. Only then will one's mind be free to create artworks. ... And who's to say me watching Spongebob all day is not art?? Only close-minded people, that's who.

Re:Fair use

[the not-troll]

You not only violated the copyright on that song by posting the chords, but you even created a derivative work by altering them.

Re:Fair use smair fuse

[Anonymous Coward]

What we need to do is send the RIAA the license-plate numbers of people who blast loud annoying music from their cars. Then the lawsuits would go to people who somewhat deserve to get sued (noise pollution) and still show the sillyness of the RIAA...