Heald (2015)
Contents
Source Details
| Heald (2015) | |
| Title: | How Notice-and-Takedown Regimes Create Markets for Music on YouTube: An Empirical Study |
| Author(s): | Heald, P. J. |
| Year: | 2015 |
| Citation: | Heald, P. J. (2015). How notice-and-takedown regimes create markets for music on YouTube: An empirical study. In Concepts of Music and Copyright: How Music Perceives Itself and How Copyright Perceives Music (pp. 195-209). Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781783478194.00013 |
| Link(s): | Definitive , Open Access |
| Key Related Studies: | |
| Discipline: | |
| Linked by: | Strzelecki (2018) |
| About the Data | |
| Data Description: | The dataset consists of a list of 90 number one songs from the US, France and Brazil from 1930 - 1960. Thereafter, the study tracked the availability of each song on YouTube, collecting information on the identity of the uploader, date of upload, number of views, and whether the upload had been monetised.
The study then uses a different dataset of 385 popular US songs from 1919-1926 to determine whether older and more obscure songs are equally as available. |
| Data Type: | Primary and Secondary data |
| Secondary Data Sources: | |
| Data Collection Methods: | |
| Data Analysis Methods: | |
| Industry(ies): | |
| Country(ies): | |
| Cross Country Study?: | Yes |
| Comparative Study?: | No |
| Literature review?: | No |
| Government or policy study?: | No |
| Time Period(s) of Collection: |
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| Funder(s): | |
Abstract
“In theory, notice-and-takedown regimes can lower transaction costs by facilitating communication between users and copyright owners, especially where content filtering automates much of the process. This market study tests the transaction costs theory by tracking 90 songs on YouTube that reached number one on the U.S., French, and Brazilian pop charts from 1930 to 1960. The data collected includes the identity of the uploader, type of upload, number of views, date of upload, and monetization status. YouTube uploads of a sample of 385 popular songs from 1919-1926 are also charted. An analysis of the data demonstrates that the DMCA safe harbor system as applied to YouTube helps maintain public access to many old songs by allowing those possessing copies (primarily infringers) to communicate relatively costlessly with copyright owners to satisfy the market of potential listeners.”
Main Results of the Study
The study finds that 95% of songs surveyed on YouTube were uploaded were uploaded by non-owners/infringers. Most infringing uploads of US songs have been monetised by the copyright owner (73%), and overall US artists appear to be more eager to monetise videos than their French and Brazilian counterparts. Most monetised videos are simple sound recordings straight from vinyl or CDs with an accompanying picture of e.g. the album cover. Here, there is a differential between US artists, who more often monetise these videos, and French and Brazilian artists who are less likely to do so. This may be reflective of a higher demand for US songs, whereas monetisation of lesser-known French and Brazilian songs are less likely to be worth the effort of monetising. By contrast, most non-monetised videos are from TV or movie clips which include the song, possibly because of ownership issues between the owner of the song and the owner of the film. Following an analysis of songs both within copyright and the public domain, the study concludes that copyright does not appear to impose an impediment to availability on YouTube. Copyrighted songs are in fact more available (77%) than public domain songs (70%).
Policy Implications as Stated By Author
The study concludes that the notice and takedown regime helps promote access to cultural goods by leaving the ultimate decision on their availability in the hands of rightsholders. As such, strict liability regimes for platforms like YouTube should be avoided, as this would likely make ‘disappearing works’ less available to the public.
Coverage of Study
Datasets
| Sample size: | 90 |
| Level of aggregation: | Songs |
| Period of material under study: | 1930 – 1960 |
| Sample size: | 385 |
| Level of aggregation: | Songs |
| Period of material under study: | 1919 – 1926 |
