Thank God for Jim Sterling.
While it’s hard to argue that any one person specifically ingited the issues found in YouTube’s Content ID system, Jim Sterling has definitely taken the charge enough that YouTube will now be changing their Content ID system and how its implemented on striked videos.
According to YouTube’s own Creator Blog, the changes will affect how a striked video is handled while in limbo to “help fix that frustrating experience.” Rather than cut off revenue from videos with ad support once they’ve been given a strike, the video will continue to accrue income. Once the Content ID claim is finalized and a verdict is reached, the money generated will go to the ruling party.
Under the current system, while a copyright claim for a given video is underway, no party can earn the money. If a creator disputes the claim, they hold the serious potential of losing any of that generated income.
“We strongly believe in fair use and believe that this improvement to Content ID will make a real difference,” the YouTube Creator Blog states. “In addition to our work on the Content ID dispute process, we’re also paying close attention to creators’ concerns about copyright claims on videos they believe may be fair use.”
Even those that run their videos ad-free, such as Jim Sterling’s The Jimquisition have come under fire for using footage from video games, with dozens of his videos constantly bombarded with copyright claims. From this, he has become a staunch advocate for both himself and the many content creators out on YouTube, especially those that rely on the service for income.
While Sterling himself does see this change as a “step in the right direction,” he doesn’t believe this will solve many of the problems with the current system.
“I appreciate the gesture, but I’ve seen YouTube make gestures before that amounted that to a heap of shite, so I’m not prepared to dance a little jig in celebration of this,” Sterling stated. “I shall, instead, continue dancing to Erasure songs in videos in order to confuse [Content ID] and ensure no one company can put ads on my videos because three of them want to at once.”