With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today.
YouTube Guitar Lessons Pulled in Copyright Spat
Listen
0:00
Listen
RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
A few months ago NPR told you about people teaching guitar on YouTube. Now one of them has had all his videos pulled from the site amid complaints of copyright infringement.
NPR's Frank Langfitt reports.
Mr. DAVID TAUB (Founder, NextLevelGuitar.com): So your verse is going to be this: D to A to G. Dag.
Sponsored message
FRANK LANGFITT: That's David Taub. Until last week he was the most popular guitar teacher on YouTube, with more than 100 instructional videos. Then he got an e-mail saying a music company had accused him of violating copyright. The offending tune: the Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar." Taub's business partner, Tim Gilberg, responded with a song of his own.
Mr. TIM GILBERG (Co-Founder, NextLevelGuitar.com): (Singing) Explaining a few chords, talking about a song, please let me know how that could be wrong.
LANGFITT: Well, legal scholars say that using even a few notes from a song can constitute copyright infringement. Interestingly, you can still watch videos from another big YouTube guitar teacher, Justin Sandercoe.
What's the difference? Taub taught on YouTube for free, but he used those videos to market a paid teaching Web site called NextLevelGuitar.com. Sandercoe, on the other hand, didn't charge for any of his Internet lessons.
Mr. JUSTIN SANDERCOE (Justinguitar.com): All of these stuff from my site is free, so therefore maybe people will see it more as a public service.
LANGFITT: Taub plans to post new lessons on YouTube but he says they will feature original material.
Frank Langfitt, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
At LAist, we focus on what matters to our community: clear, fair, and transparent reporting that helps you make decisions with confidence and keeps powerful institutions accountable.
Your support for independent local news is critical. With federal funding for public media gone, LAist faces a $1.7 million yearly shortfall. Speaking frankly, how much reader support we receive now will determine the strength of this reliable source of local information now and for years to come.
This work is only possible with community support. Every investigation, service guide, and story is made possible by people like you who believe that local news is a public good and that everyone deserves access to trustworthy local information.
That’s why we’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Thank you for understanding how essential it is to have an informed community and standing up for free press.
Your support for independent local news is critical. With federal funding for public media gone, LAist faces a $1.7 million yearly shortfall. Speaking frankly, how much reader support we receive now will determine the strength of this reliable source of local information now and for years to come.
This work is only possible with community support. Every investigation, service guide, and story is made possible by people like you who believe that local news is a public good and that everyone deserves access to trustworthy local information.
That’s why we’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Thank you for understanding how essential it is to have an informed community and standing up for free press.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
