Topic: My Zelda cover! (more shameless self promotion)

[Zannibal]

Now I normally wouldn't spam my non-Castlevania covers here, but since there's tons of old Nintendo fans I'd imagine there are lots of Zelda fans too So, here goes;

Legend of Zelda - Theme / Overworld (metal cover)

I normally try to do songs that haven't been covered before, but I love this theme so I decided to cover it anyways (another exception will be "Arthas, My Son" from Warcraft). Besides, my latest original song kind of failed so I wanted to do some "easy" cover for a change.

I also try to stay away from Nintendo covers due to copyrights. Nintendo isn't the most friendly company as we know Konami doesn't seem to mind covers at all. In fact, they sometimes advertise them on their Facebook.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

I haven't had issues with my Nintendo covers.
I get copyright strikes with Square-Enix, the most.  Very few Nintendo issues.
With Konami, I get them when it comes to Symphony of the Night.

[Zannibal]

Oh. That's surprising. I thought Nintendo was the evil one. Well, I'm glad you mentioned Square-Enix. I was about to make some FF3 medley but not so sure about that now Do they just put ads on your covers or do they actually take them down?

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

On Youtube, you only get a "Copyright Notice".
If you check your account, you will see that Google sends you a message saying "Part of your video contains some copyrighted material, the list is below:", and then gives you the company that's being dickish about it.  However, that doesn't force your video down.  It can still be viewed.

From what I've seen:
-if you do nothing, or 'acknowledge', your video still plays, but you might spot an ad for that tune.
-if you contest it (which I have), the copyright claim may be removed or may be 'approved' (they won't tell you).

I've not had any cease-and-desist messages from Google, nor have any of the videos that I've gotten Copyright Notices on, been removed.
Here are my copyright notices:

-Big Bad Baby Bowser - Super Mario World 2 (Nintendo)
-Overworld Theme - Super Mario World (Nintendo)
-My Castlevania on Minecraft - Bloody Tears (Konami)
-The Brink of Time - Chrono Trigger (Square Enix)
-Ending Theme - Final Fantasy VI (Square Enix)
-Tina - Overworld Theme - Final Fantasy VI (Square Enix)

Here is Google's (Youtube's) stance on Content ID issues, Copyright Notices, and Copyright Strikes (the ones that can affect you):

--------------------------------------------------------------
What is a Content ID claim?

If you upload a video that contains copyright-protected material, you could end up with a Content ID claim. These claims are issued by companies that own music, movies, TV shows, video games, or other copyright-protected material.

If you received a copyright strike, this article will not be helpful to you.

Where do I see my Content ID claims?

To see if you have any Content ID claims on your videos, visit the copyright notices section of your Video Manager. In certain cases when your video or account is affected, we may also email you when you get a Content ID claim.

Am I in trouble?

In most cases, getting a Content ID claim isn’t a bad thing for your YouTube channel. It just means, “Hey, we found some material in your video that’s owned by someone else.”

It’s up to copyright owners to decide whether or not others can reuse their original material. In many cases, copyright owners allow the use of their content in YouTube videos in exchange for putting ads on those videos.

However, there are some cases when copyright owners don’t want their material reused:

Blocking a video: Sometimes, copyright owners may block your video, which means people won’t be able to watch it. They can decide to block your video worldwide or just in certain countries. If your video is blocked worldwide, your account standing may be affected, which means you’ll lose access to some YouTube features. Please keep in mind that deleting videos that affect your account standing won’t restore your good standing.

Muting a video: If your video contains copyright-protected music, the owner may choose to mute it. This means that people can still watch your video, but they won’t be able to hear the soundtrack. This won’t affect your account standing.

Blocking certain platforms: In some cases, copyright owners may restrict the devices, apps, or websites on which their content can appear. These restrictions won’t change the availability of your video on YouTube.com.

In most cases, you can’t monetize a video that has a Content ID claim. Instead, the copyright owners can choose to monetize your video.

What can I do about this claim?

When you get a Content ID claim, there are a few different things you can do, depending on the situation:

Acknowledge the claim: If you agree with the claim, you can just acknowledge it and move on. You can always change your mind later if you disagree with the claim.
Remove the music: If you get a claim for a piece of music in your video, you can try to remove the song without having to edit and upload a new video. Learn more.

Swap the music: If music in your video is claimed, but you still want to have music in the background, you can swap out your audio track with one of our free-to-use songs. Learn more.

Share revenue: If you’re a member of our YouTube Partner Program, and you’re performing an eligible song cover, you may be able to share revenue with the music publisher. That way, both of you can earn money on the video! Learn more.

Dispute the claim: If you have the required rights to use the copyright-protected content in your video, or if you think the system has somehow misidentified your video, you can dispute the claim.

To dispute the claim, go to your copyright notices and click the link to the right of the video's Edit menu. This will take you to a page with information about what’s been claimed in your video and who claimed it. You’ll also find the option to dispute the claim on this page.

If you dispute a claim without a valid reason, the content owner may choose to take down your video. If this happens, your account will get a copyright strike.
Deleting videos that affect your account standing won’t restore your good standing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Zannibal]

Ah yes. I had 2 false copyright claims on my original song, but I obviously got rid of those. I guess YouTube's system won't recognize covers so easily because in most cases they sound very different from the original (especially in cases like mine where I usually change the key the song goes in).

I don't mind ads on my videos. It's just taking the videos down that I'm afraid of (which will lead to closing the account after 3 videos afaik). But apparently that doesn't happen that often.

Copyright laws are such a mess with covers and fair uses and all And outdated as hell. Covers are more about fans having fun than making money nowadays. But anyway, thanks for mentioning that Nintendo thing! Definitely open up many possibilities *asks brother to start practicing Gerudo Valley*...

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

If you need sheet music for that, I have it.

[darkmanx_429]

Grab it while you can!
http://kotaku.com/pass-go-and-collect-200-rupees-33-off-shovel-knight-1677104045

On a side note: BMC_Warmachine did a hard rock version of the Dark World Theme. You Overworld theme reminded me of that.