There’s probably a whole lot of you interweb cruisers out there who have no idea who Rick Beato is. That’s ok. There are so many YouTube channels and internet “celebrities” these days that it is easy to get lost in the shuffle. However, in the case of Rick Beato, he actually creates some great content–especially for the guitar world. He is generally on the cutting edge of who’s hip and often provides some very interesting color on many a famous guitarist and quite a few up and comers. He’s a good guy and what he puts out is not only entertaining but has high informational and educational value as well. Here’s the problem…

When Rick does a show…let’s say he interviews Pat Metheny…he often uses clips of audio (and/or video) to highlight various parts of his conversation. Unfortunately, the content behind these clips (in Pat Metheny’s case) is technically owned by his record label/distributor, Universal Music Group (UMG). As such, UMG feels that they (and they alone) own the rights and permissions to use that content for ANY and all rebroadcasts. They also feel that an independent creator like Rick is not allowed to use this content even though he is talking to Pat Metheny himself!

Here we have a glaring example of one of those obvious places where corporate goons are overstepping their bounds again. Thus, I bring to you the concept of “Fair Use”. What is Fair Use you may ask? Please review (and this includes you, record label goons!):

“Fair use permits a party to use a copyrighted work without the copyright owner’s permission for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.” (Copyright Alliance)

You see it all the time. It’s important to have a doctrine like Fair Use because often, specific content is required to cover a story or teach a lesson (on copyright for example). Obviously, it is not intended as a work around to copyright law, so there are four specific caveats that are usually considered when considering what might be “Fair Use”:

• -The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for non-profit educational purposes;
• -The nature of the copyrighted work;
• -The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
• -The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Personally, I think all of this is quite obvious, so I’ll skip the copyright tutorial. However, if you’re curious as to a more expanded definition, please feel free to peruse a more detailed explanation at the Copyright Alliance website. In a general sense, as long as you’re not using the copyrighted content as the mainstay of one’s “original content” or as a more specific way to earn income from that exact content, a person should be allowed to use any content they wish as a way to color in a story, an informative piece, a tutorial, etc.

Now, this should be quite transparent in the case with Rick Beato. Anyone (and this includes record label goons) who has watched Rick’s many entertaining videos can see clearly that he is not using any accompanying clips of the musicians he interviews purely for monetary reasons or that they are the bulk of his content. It’s nonsense to even make this argument. But record labels goons gonna record label.

Right now, UMG is going after Rick for copyright infringement. Because they are such a big fish in the content world, they have weight on providers like YouTube (and creators like Rick) to basically cancel any infringing content, even if that “infringing” content is up for debate. And of course, most woke, follow along (all the way to the cattle cars) companies will gladly help because they are afraid for their bottom line. Which is also ridiculous, considering that their “bottom line” is augmented specifically by channels like Rick Beato! Pick a lane YouTube!

But that “bottom line” additionally exists for the record label. When Rick showcases a UMG artist, he is actually promoting that artist! (Get a fucking clue UMG). It can’t hurt in any way to have Rick out there adding additional eyeballs to any of UMG’s artist repertoire. It’s insane to think this. So what’s the deal then? Well, now we get to the meat of the bone…some tin foil may be required.

Companies like UMG, YouTube, et al want to CONTROL ALL CONTENT. It is essentially the paver stones one walks on the way to censorship. It’s not about Rick Beato specifically; it’s about UMG’s ability to completely control how “their” content is used. Because in the future, that content may stand in stark contrast to the fantasy picture and/or other buffoonery showcased by the mainstream media. Thus, because it might provide an avenue for alternative thinking, it must be tamped down to prevent any future unauthorized use.

As any astute media consumer knows, it’s not about the “content” per se; it is about which “content” is given airtime. Radio stations do this all the time. Sure, they could play all the greatest musicians–or at least a wide sampling of them–but instead they literally play just 7-8 of their largest sponsor’s content per hour because that’s where the money is flowing. So, an “artist” like Taylor Swift (who is absurdly dull, banal and lukewarm creatively) gets all the air time in place of an artist like Ibibio Sound Machine, who is one of the newest, freshest breaths of air in the pop/electronica genre in decades.

Television does this too. Oh, you thought those programs on your cable guide existed because they are the most watched? Wrong dongo! It’s just the content owners (Disney, Paramount for examples) that pay the cable companies to broadcast this shit. Often, some of the least popular content is showcased just because it is packaged in with more popular content. Think of the difference between GayTV and ESPN. There are hundreds of channels like this in the cable world, that exist solely because of the power of the content owner and/or advertiser rather than the audience.

So the whole UMG enchilada is just another example of large corporate conglomerate overreach in an effort to control content. And it’s complete bullshit when you think about it because….UMG doesn’t create any fucking content! Without us out here in the interwebs (or basements or cheap apartments) working overtime on our various crafts (for often no credit whatsoever) UMG wouldn’t have any fucking content to begin with. Chew on that one, record label goon.

But it’s really worse than that, as all things small tend to coalesce in the corporate world to large oversized, behemoths. Let’s just run this forward a little…What happens when/if UMG (or Disney or whomever) becomes the one global content owner. Then what? Are we all going to beg for forgiveness for using content under fair use? Are we going to have to play “Mother, may I” ad nauseam to use creator content to emphasize educational content? Should we have to sign that special form to cover one of our favorite artists at yet another low paying gig? It’s as ridiculous as saying that I have to pay Gibson or Fender a vig for playing their guitars on my albums or at the club.

So this entire thing needs to stop post haste. None of us out here are a large enough player to really have a voice, but I seem to remember Mr. Marley singing something about “us” (small axe people) being able to take down the “big tree”, so remember that ultimately it is that same “us” who wields the power because “we/us” are the consumer, not UMG. I would start the process of rebellion by not buying any artist that is held or distributed by UMG. Or any content for that matter. Next, I would look for other platforms to share content on aside from YouTube. I realize not everyone can afford a website these days, but the costs have come down and it is extremely simple to shoot and edit videos these days if you’re inclined. Finally, throw ol’ Rick Beato a bone and support his channel. We need more content creators like him.

The most important thing is to stay informed on topics like this and to talk about it, often. As far as I know, we still have free speech in this country (and the CBC is still landlocked in Justineland) so we should be safe from any copyright infringement. Let’s face it–if we lose the ability to speak freely, it’s all over, so this IS really important shit to talk about. YOUR voice is YOUR power. Don’t give it up.