SHORT VERSION:

Filmmusic.io, solely operated by me, Sascha Ende, will return to offering only my music starting end of January, due to trust and licensing issues caused by guest artists registering their supposedly copyright-free music under YouTube's Content ID system, contravening Creative Commons 4.0 License terms and impacting the platform's integrity.

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LONG VERSION

Restructuring Filmmusic.io: A Return to Solo Offerings

As the sole operator of Filmmusic.io, I've made a significant decision regarding the future of my website, which I want to explain. Starting from the end of January, guest artist profiles on Filmmusic.io will be deactivated, and a backup download of their data will only be available until the end of March. This marks a return to my roots, focusing solely on offering my music, as was the case until 2021. This decision wasn't made lightly, and I believe it's crucial to explain the rationale behind it.

My platform has always prided itself on being a hub for creative and copyright-free music, under the Creative Commons 4.0 License. However, recent events have compelled me to reevaluate this approach. For the third time, an artist, surprisingly a well-known one with a substantial catalog, has registered their complete music collection with YouTube's Content ID (CID) system. This was unexpected, especially since their music was promoted as "copyright free" and distributed under the Creative Commons license on various platforms.

The artist argued that registering music with the CID system offers security to users. Yet, this claim does not align with reality. In an experiment, I registered a song through two different publishers in the CID system and ended up receiving two separate claims on YouTube.
Source ("On the same asset"): https://support.google.com/you...
Source: https://soundscape.io/blog/a-2022-guide-to-music-licensing-and-content-id

This incident clearly demonstrates that such registration does not provide the security it claims to. More so, YouTube explicitly forbids uploading Creative Commons licensed music into the CID system, a policy clearly outlined in their support documentation.
Source: https://support.google.com/you...

Anyway, Youtube also says: "Content that is sold or licensed at scale for incorporation into other works must be routed for review. For example, matches against the following content types must be routed to manual review before claiming: So-called "royalty free" production music libraries typically licensed for use in game, film, TV or other soundtracks."
--> That means, that it is not allowed to automatically claim every video. Every match has to be reviewed BEFORE claiming it.
There are some providers like frequency music, that automatically scan video descriptions for attribution. But they do not scan attribution INSIDE of the video. So videos will be still claimed.
Source: https://support.google.com/you...

Furthermore, Creative Commons licenses themselves prohibit the registration of music in digital fingerprinting systems. They explicitly state that legal terms or technological measures that restrict others from exercising licensed rights are not permitted. This includes the use of digital rights management software or similar technologies.
Source: https://wiki.creativecommons.o...

The ramifications of registering hundreds of music pieces in the CID system retrospectively have been profound. It has led to a significant loss of trust among users, impacting not just the artist in question but also Filmmusic.io as a platform and all other artists featured on it. This loss of trust could potentially spill over to my music, which I cannot risk, especially if such incidents become frequent.

I believe that resorting to measures that contravene the licenses we issue and YouTube's guidelines, in an attempt to protect against content theft, places us on the same moral ground as those committing the theft. This goes against our ethos and the trust we've built with our community.

Given these reasons, I've decided that continuing to operate the platform in its current form is no longer viable. The risks are too great, and the potential damage to the trust also in MY music is something I cannot afford. Therefore, the decision to revert Filmmusic.io to solely offering my music is a step towards maintaining control and upholding the values my platform stands for.

I understand this change may be unexpected, but I believe it's a necessary step to preserve the integrity of Filmmusic.io and the trust you've placed in us. I appreciate your understanding and continued support as we embark on this new chapter.

Sascha Ende