Rumblefish Inc.

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Rumblefish Inc. is a music licensing company specializing in all forms of synchronization licensing with a focus on 'micro-licensing' and online network monetization such as with YouTube's Content ID. It covers over 1.8 million pieces of music and it licenses over 20,000 soundtracks on more than nine million social videos. [1]

Contents

History

In 2010 Rumblefish partnered with YouTube to allow YouTube video creators to pay a small fee to legally license music for their videos. [2] [3]

In late 2011 Rumblefish entered into a partnership with CD Baby to license the music from CD Baby's independent artists for movies, TV shows, ads, video games, apps, and YouTube. [4] [5]

In early 2013 Rumblefish acquired Catalogik, a music rights administration software as a service (SaaS). [6]

Controversy

Rumblefish has generated controversy by sending copyright takedown notices to YouTube alleging copyright violations in videos' soundtracks, even when the user has written rights to the usage of a particular song or recording, [7] [8] [9] or when users are musicians posting their own videos of songs they wrote and performed themselves and to which they own all copyright. [10]

In early 2012 Rumblefish falsely claimed ownership of birdsong heard in the background of a YouTube video, resulting in the video being taken down. When the owner of the video objected, Rumblefish reiterated its claim. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] Rumblefish CEO Paul Anthony later admitted that mistakes were made, and stated that Rumblefish would be improving its process. [17] [18] [19]

In 2015, Rumblefish falsely filed a copyright claim on the public-domain song America the Beautiful , as performed by the United States Navy Band (whose performances are all likewise public-domain). [20]

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References

  1. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid. "Rumblefish, Soundtrack Licensing Partner To YouTube And Others, Buys Catalogik To Improve Music Search". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  2. ↑ Samuel Axon 151 (2010-06-28). "License Songs for Your YouTube Videos at $1.99 Each". Mashable.com. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
  3. ↑ Heater, Brian (2010-06-23). "YouTube, RumbleFish Partner for 'Friendly Music' | News & Opinion". PCMag.com. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
  4. ↑ Scott Steinberg. "CD Baby, Rumblefish Partner for Online Music Licensing Program | Scott Steinberg". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 9, 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
  5. ↑ Robley, Chris (2012-01-18). "Make Money on YouTube, Film, TV and more with CD Baby Sync Licensing | DIY Musician". Diymusician.cdbaby.com. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
  6. ↑ Ingrid Lunden (2013-03-21). "Rumblefish, Soundtrack Licensing Partner to YouTube and Others, Buys Catalogik to Improve Music Search". TechCrunch.com.
  7. ↑ Doctorow, Cory (2012-02-27). "Rumblefish claims to own copyright to ambient birdsong on YouTube". Boing Boing. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
  8. ↑ "Rumblefish CEO: Claiming Copyright on Your Incidental Recordings of Birds Was Merely a Series of Unfortunate Errors". 27 February 2012.
  9. ↑ "Rumblefish claims it owns "America the Beautiful" by United States Navy Band?". adafruit. 2015-07-03.
  10. ↑ How Rumblefish Ended Up Claiming Copyright On A Song Uploaded By The Band Who Actually Held The Copyright, by Mike Masnick, in Techdirt ; published April 25, 2012; retrieved January 16, 2016
  11. ↑ "Rumblefish claims to own copyright to ambient birdsong on YouTube". Boing Boing. 2012-02-27.
  12. ↑ Nancy Messieh (2012-02-27). "A copyright claim on chirping birds highlights the flaws of YouTube's automated system". The Next Web News.
  13. ↑ "Guy Gets Bogus YouTube Copyright Claim... On Birds Singing In The Background". TechDirt. 2012-02-27.
  14. ↑ Sean F (2012-02-29). "Rumblefish Submits YouTube Copyright Claim on Birds Singing". Digital Digest.
  15. ↑ Chad Love (2012-02-28). "Firm Says Bird Songs Can Be Copyrighted, Video Pulled From YouTube". Field & Stream.
  16. ↑ Adrian Covert (2012-02-28). "If a Bird Chirps in Your YouTube Video, Are You Committing Copyright Infringement?". Gizmodo.
  17. ↑ "I'm the CEO of Rumblefish, I guess we're the newest up and coming bird music licensing company - I'm also a copyright, music licensing, entrepreneur guy. Ask me anything". reddit. 2012-02-26.
  18. ↑ "Rumblefish CEO: Claiming Copyright On Your Incidental Recordings Of Birds Was Merely A Series Of Unfortunate Errors". TechDirt. 2012-02-27.
  19. ↑ "Rumblefish CEO explains why a YouTube video with chirping birds was hit with a copyright claim". The Next Web News. 2012-02-28.
  20. ↑ A most unpatriotic YouTube hijacking: America the Beautiful, by Joe Mullin, in Ars Technica ; published July 3, 2015; retrieved January 16, 2015


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