Possible to monetize song mashups?
July 1, 2020 11:39 AM Subscribe
I am interested in creating "mashups" of popular songs that highlight similarities between them. Similar to this (Katy Perry's California Gurls vs Ke$ha's Tik Tok). Is it possible to monetize this on Youtube or similar, given that I'd be working with popular, copyrighted songs?
I have both the ear and the technical knowledge to do this. It's interesting to me as a project because of the lawsuits that trickle up claiming popsong X copied popsong Y; I think this type of "copying" is fundamental to how pop music is created and shouldn't be the subject of litigation. I'd like to create a Youtube channel to help illustrate this. I think my works would fall under fair use given my project goals; however I don't have the energy or interest to fight an uphill battle against algorithmic copyright detection, especially if I can't monetize it.
I have both the ear and the technical knowledge to do this. It's interesting to me as a project because of the lawsuits that trickle up claiming popsong X copied popsong Y; I think this type of "copying" is fundamental to how pop music is created and shouldn't be the subject of litigation. I'd like to create a Youtube channel to help illustrate this. I think my works would fall under fair use given my project goals; however I don't have the energy or interest to fight an uphill battle against algorithmic copyright detection, especially if I can't monetize it.
Best answer: I think my works would fall under fair use given my project goals; however I don't have the energy or interest to fight an uphill battle against algorithmic copyright detection, especially if I can't monetize it.
Have you seen this ("warner music claimed my video for defending their copyright in a lawsuit they lost the copyright for")?
Given the troubles that music education Youtubers like Adam Neely and Rick Beato have had with takedown notices, I am pessimistic about your mashup project surviving even a day. The labels and Youtube don't give a shit about fair use, and there are people working full time to detect anything that they can claim is infringing.
posted by thelonius at 1:58 PM on July 1, 2020 [5 favorites]
Have you seen this ("warner music claimed my video for defending their copyright in a lawsuit they lost the copyright for")?
Given the troubles that music education Youtubers like Adam Neely and Rick Beato have had with takedown notices, I am pessimistic about your mashup project surviving even a day. The labels and Youtube don't give a shit about fair use, and there are people working full time to detect anything that they can claim is infringing.
posted by thelonius at 1:58 PM on July 1, 2020 [5 favorites]
The famous case of Danger Mouse's Grey Album ( a mashup of the Beatles White Album and Metallica's Black album)
Not to split hairs, but it was Jay-Z's The Black Album
posted by STFUDonnie at 5:08 PM on July 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
Not to split hairs, but it was Jay-Z's The Black Album
posted by STFUDonnie at 5:08 PM on July 1, 2020 [3 favorites]
Omg oops! STFUDonnie you are totally right. That's what I get for vague memories of something that I didn't go back and double check details on. Also I think a Beatles / Metallica mashup would be amazing.
posted by ananci at 5:13 PM on July 1, 2020
posted by ananci at 5:13 PM on July 1, 2020
Also I think a Beatles / Metallica mashup would be amazing.
Allow me to introduce you to Beatallica.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 8:19 PM on July 1, 2020
Allow me to introduce you to Beatallica.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 8:19 PM on July 1, 2020
Also I think a Beatles / Metallica mashup would be amazing.
Hey Dude
posted by thelonius at 8:19 PM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
Hey Dude
posted by thelonius at 8:19 PM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
I think your chances of monetizing on Youtube are approximately nil. If you have a talent for this and can build a reputation/community around it, you could throw up a Patreon and try to indirectly monetize it that way. But if you're not interested in jumping through hoops, I wouldn't bother.
posted by Glier's Goetta at 9:06 AM on July 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Glier's Goetta at 9:06 AM on July 2, 2020 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Several helpful responses, thanks. I flagged thelonius comment as best answer because Adam Neely's video talks very specifically about the issue at hand. A project like this, with the implicit suggestion that one song copied another, may technically fall under fair use (education/criticism), but each mashup would be an uphill legal battle against whatever record company holds the rights to the song that was released later.
Starting a Patreon sounds like a feasible alternative, as suggested by the Adam Neely video and by Glier's Goetta. If I decide to go through with the project I'll look into that as an option.
posted by smokysunday at 7:50 PM on July 3, 2020
Starting a Patreon sounds like a feasible alternative, as suggested by the Adam Neely video and by Glier's Goetta. If I decide to go through with the project I'll look into that as an option.
posted by smokysunday at 7:50 PM on July 3, 2020
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However, mashups are not monetizable in and of themselves. The famous case of Danger Mouse's Grey Album ( a mashup of the Beatles White Album and Metallica's Black album) highlights this. You can read about the legal ramifications and legacy here.
Whether or not it is flagged by copyright bots is down to how the mashup is structured.
posted by ananci at 11:48 AM on July 1, 2020 [5 favorites]