can enjoy music on the go. But, is it legal to do so? It is still unanswered because YouTube’s Terms of Service (ToS) clearly state that ‘stream-ripping’ is a copyright violation.
Yet, countless online conversion websites are active on internet. What people fail to differentiate is that
the video content on YouTube is in fact a ‘stream’ and not simply a video. A video content is recorded and ‘streamed’ on YouTube. Some of this streamed content is open to everyone but most of these are original so they are copyright protected.
Why Do YouTube to MP3 Convertors Exist?
Stream-ripping is the only process through which a user can download original content to his device. YouTube to MP3 conversion website use this process to allow users in acquiring copyrighted content for free. So, users are the only reason these sites exist in first place.
A popular conversion website, youtube-mp3.org was questioned for violating YouTube’s ToS but it refused to comply. This legal battle carried on for years until Google had to ban the conversion website from its search results. Countless sites like these pop up every day and Google keeps on banning them as they find out.
It is unlikely for Google to denounce regular user activity on such sites. As a matter of fact, the new content regulation favors users more than a YouTuber.
YouTube Cannot Do Anything Until People Do
It can be argued that why YouTube does not sue these sites for a higher penalty? The reason is because Google ultimately profits from running ad campaigns on these sites. And interestingly, people continue to use YouTube to MP3 convertors without realizing the gravity of copyright laws.
Out of trillion channels on YouTube there are very few which are authentic and meaningful to follow. Most artists and singers also use channels to release their music videos on YouTube. Now for these artists, music is their livelihood which they sell to support themselves and their dependents.
Copyright is an Artist’s Right
When a person disregards the cost of music and rips it from YouTube instead, then it means he values money more than the efforts of that artist. However, nobody ever gets sued so they carry on using the ripping process. Therefore, making way for more convertors to enter the market.
An average individual is very less likely to get sued by YouTube. Given the situation, it seems like YouTube does not even care if its original streamers are getting ripped like that.
Moreover, people also do not care about the ethical values associated with ripping music. Which is why YouTube to MP3 convertors are still a top search on Google. Before worrying about its legality, a user must question his morality for ripping an artist off.
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