YouTube Red Creates Unfortunate Copyright Issues
Because we all love seeing that blank grey box telling us that “This content is not available in your country”, it seems YouTube Red is causing some issues with certain videos in the USA, as reported by Destructoid this morning.
Certain Japanese games haven’t quite updated their contracts for YouTube Red yet, which is affecting their visibility on YouTube in general for US viewers. Specifically, you won’t be able to see content from Attack on Titan, Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai 2, or BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma.
Here’s what YouTube has to say on the issue in a message to content creators whose videos are being blocked:
"Here’s why this is happening: You may have heard that we recently announced YouTube Red – a new membership that offers fans more choice in how they watch their favorite videos with features like ad-free, background and offline viewing for a monthly fee. In order to deliver a great experience for fans who choose to pay for this offering, we are updating our contracts with all of our content partners. The new terms make it possible for us to share subscription revenues with creators, providing an additional revenue stream for them beyond ad-supported YouTube revenue. The overwhelming majority of videos on YouTube are accounted for in our agreements, but there are some partners who have asked for more time to think about their options. While we work with these partners to update their terms, we unfortunately can’t make their claimed videos available in the US."
It’s a good thing the games in question aren’t bigger, better-known titles, because you’d think YouTube would have straightened all this out beforehand. It does leave the question, though: what could have changed so much that some publishers are unwilling to accept the new contracts at this time? And what happens if they never do?
You’ll just have to soak up all that great Hatsune Miku musical funk somewhere else.