Radiohead and Prince Battle Over Youtube Videos - Pressed for Sound

Pressed for Sound

Radiohead and Prince Battle Over Youtube Videos

thom yorke_acoustic.jpgIt's no secret that Prince covered Radiohead's "Creep" during his set at Coachella. Fan-made videos were up on YouTube with minutes of his rendition, and those who didn't attend the festival flocked to the video site once they heard the news.

But alas, every clip of Prince's unique cover were quickly taken down. His label, NPG Records, claimed there was a copyright violation and had the videos removed. The argument against Prince's label is that the videos were shot by fans at the concert, and the song being shown is a cover. If anything, this stirs more debate about line separating current copyright laws and digital ownership.

prince_coachella.jpgIn an Associated Press report on Billboard.com, Thom Yorke stated that the performance was "hilarious," and, "laughed" when guitarist Ed O'Brien told him that the video had been blocked.

"Really? He's blocked it?" Yorke stated. "Surely we should block it. Hang on a moment. Well, tell him to unblock it. It's our ... song." That's a logical reaction ... right?

According to YouTube, the posting of copyrighted material without permission from the owner/artist is prohibited and subject to removal. Prince has some solid footing because he's in the video, but if one records the performance (a cover no less) from a camera that was not prohibited during the time of the performance doesn't that negate said rule?

Here's hoping that the quintet perform a blistering cover of "Little Red Corvette" on its current tour -- then post the videos straight to YouTube themselves. 

 

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