by John Kersey
I have uploaded over 700 videos of my piano recordings to YouTube. I have made them available as a public and educational service, given that many are the first (or only) recording of the work in question and that the public are increasingly looking to consume music in digital and online formats rather than buying CD recordings. I do not make any money from my recordings’ presence on YouTube, and have chosen to embed the videos on my website (rather than on a YouTube channel) so that others do not commercially exploit them or place advertising on them in such a way as to disrupt the listening experience for the viewer.
I am the only artist on all my recordings, all of which have been made by me in my home studio or in my public concerts and have been edited by me.
A minority of the music I have recorded is in copyright, and in each of these cases, the copyright owner has permitted the non-commercial use of the work on YouTube.
However, the majority of my recordings are of music that is in the public domain. In most countries, this means that seventy years have elapsed since the death of the composer of the work. There are certain countries with a longer copyright term than the seventy year rule (such as Mexico, which has a hundred year term, and in cases of renewed copyright in the USA) although if this were to apply, I maintain that my recordings would still be allowable on YouTube under fair use provisions. In any event, no dispute that I will refer to below has involved claims under anything other than a seventy-year copyright jurisdiction.
As I understand it, YouTube delegates responsibility for copyright checking to software. This software then makes representations on behalf of rights holders, based on the information that rights holders have provided to YouTube concerning their holdings.
It is my case that this software is either not fit for purpose, or that it has been deliberately programmed to overreach its proper boundaries. The reason for my view is that in dozens of cases, false claims of copyright ownership are being made over content that is clearly and unambiguously in the public domain. In some cases, the work in question has been in the public domain for over a century.
YouTube does not seem to do anything about this problem of overreach. With the facelessness that characterizes modern technology, it hands off any dispute to be resolved between the alleged rights holder and the uploader of the material. There is a thirty day period during which the dispute is current. After that period the false claim lapses and no longer appears on the uploader’s account. But as I have discovered, this does not mean it has been withdrawn. If the same material is uploaded again, exactly the same false claim is encountered.
Most uploaders, it seems, will not challenge false claims of copyright for fear of receiving copyright strikes and having their channels demonetised or removed. However, the obligation to the truth is central to any proper artistic vision. If it falls to us to speak truth to power, then we must do so whatever the cost.
The music publishing rights industry should exist for the benefit of living composers and those whose rights are legitimately controlled under copyright. Participation in a scheme whereby widespread overreach is normalized brings music rights controllers into disrepute by their association with false claims. If the software that is being used is not fit for purpose, it needs to be adjusted until it is. If the problem is alternatively greed and a desire for indiscriminate commercial exploitation regardless of legal boundaries, then this needs to be exposed to public scrutiny. Creative artists who choose not to be part of the mainstream commercial system should not be subjected to bullying and one-sided tactics in which the only priority is commercial interests. If that remains so, then YouTube will no longer be a proper home for creative rather than purely commercial endeavour. Already the impression is that YouTube has entered into a Faustian bargain with rights holders whereby they are given the automatic benefit of the doubt through the YouTube rights system and creators are expected to accept their dominance even when it is based on falsehoods.
The following list is of those publishers who have falsely claimed copyright over works that I have uploaded to YouTube. In each case, I have disputed the claim on the basis that the work in question is clearly and unambiguously in the public domain under the seventy-year term. I will omit from the list those publishers who have withdrawn their claims after I disputed them. I begin each entry with the date of death of the composer in question.
1. Beethoven died in 1827.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Beethoven Sonata op 53 original version
- Copyrighted content: Andante favori in F, WoO 57
- Claimed by: BMG Rights Management (US), LLC, Polaris Hub AB, and UMPG Publishing
2. Fauré died in 1924.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Faure Barcarolles and Nocturnes selection
- Copyrighted content: Barcarolle No. 8 in D-Flat Major, Op. 96
- Claimed by: Wise Music Group
3. Fauré died in 1924.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Faure Barcarolles and Nocturnes selection
- Copyrighted content: Barcarolle No. 3 in G-Flat Major, Op. 42
- Claimed by: Wise Music Group and UMPG Publishing
4. Fauré died in 1924.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Faure Barcarolles and Nocturnes selection
- Copyrighted content: Barcarolle No. 5 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 66
- Claimed by: BMI – Broadcast Music Inc.
5. Liszt died in 1886. I have no idea what “Lüktetések II” is, but it is not the work by Liszt that I recorded.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Liszt Piano Piece in F sharp major, S193
- Copyrighted content: Lüktetések II.
- Claimed by: VCPMC_CS
6. Glazunov died in 1936.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Glazunov Petit Adagio
- Copyrighted content: Autumn (Extract)
- Claimed by: LatinAutorPerf
7. Janacek died in 1928.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Janacek In the Mists
- Copyrighted content: V mlhách (In the Mists), JW VIII/22: I. Andante
- Claimed by: LatinAutor, LatinAutorPerf, UNIAO BRASILEIRA DE EDITORAS DE MUSICA – UBEM, and LatinAutor – Warner Chappell
8. Janacek died in 1928.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Janacek In the Mists
- Copyrighted content: V mlhách (In the Mists), JW VIII/22: II. Molto adagio
- Claimed by: BUMA CS
9. Medtner died in 1951.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Medtner Piano Sonata no 9 in A minor op 30 War Sonata
- Copyrighted content: Piano Sonata in A Minor, Op. 30
- Claimed by: LatinAutorPerf and Polaris Hub AB
10. Medtner died in 1951.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Medtner Canzona matinata and Sonata tragica
- Copyrighted content: “Vergessene Weisen”, op. 39/5: Sonata Tragica
- Claimed by: LatinAutorPerf
11. Friedrich Flotow died in 1883.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Sydney Smith Second Fantasia on Flotow’s “Martha”, op 119
- Copyrighted content: M’appari
- Claimed by: Wise Music Group and Warner Chappell
12. Felix Mendelssohn died in 1847.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Sydney Smith Paraphrase de concert on Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
- Copyrighted content: Midsummer Night’s Dream (Piano Version)
- Claimed by: Wise Music Group and Hexacorp (music publishing)
13. The Rigaudons des petits violons et hautbois de Louis XIV dates from between 1643 and 1715.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Anon trans Alkan Rigaudons des petits violons et hautbois de Louis XIV
- Copyrighted content: Dance Du Roi
- Claimed by: Associated Production Music LLC
14. Josef Rheinberger died in 1901.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Josef Rheinberger Passacaglia, from the Organ Sonata no 8
- Copyrighted content: Organ Sonata No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 132: IV. Passacaglia
- Claimed by: Wise Music Group (a further claimant has withdrawn after I disputed their claim)
15. Beethoven died in 1827.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Beethoven Sonata no 30 in E major, op 109 live
- Copyrighted content: 1. Vivace ma non troppo-Adagio espressivo-Tempo I – 2. Prestissimo
- Claimed by: LatinAutor – SonyATV, LatinAutorPerf, UNIAO BRASILEIRA DE EDITORAS DE MUSICA – UBEM, and SOLAR Music Rights Management
16. Beethoven died in 1827.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Beethoven Six Bagatelles, op 126
- Copyrighted content: 6. Presto – Andante amabile e con moto
- Claimed by: Wise Music Group
17. Cesar Franck died in 1890.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Franck Prelude, Chorale and Fugue
- Copyrighted content: Prelude, Choral et Fugue
- Claimed by: LatinAutorPerf and Audiam (Publishing)
18. “Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen” was most likely written by Heinrich Isaac, who died in 1517. “Nun ruhen alle Wälder” in the same context is by J.S. Bach, who died in 1750.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Walter Niemann Phantasien in Bremer Ratskeller op 113
- Copyrighted content: Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen – Nun ruhen alle Wälder
- Claimed by: UMPG Publishing
19. Schubert died in 1828.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Schubert Moments musicaux, D780
- Copyrighted content: Moments musicaux, Op. 94, D. 780: No. 4 in C-Sharp Minor – Moderato
- Claimed by: UMPG Publishing
20. Schumann died in 1856.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Schumann Humoreske, op 20
- Copyrighted content: Humoreske, Op. 20: No. 1, Einfach
- Claimed by: DRM New Zealand (Music Publishing)
21. Schumann died in 1856.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Schumann Humoreske, op 20
- Copyrighted content: 5. Sehr lebhaft
- Claimed by: Abramus Digital and LatinAutorPerf
22. Schumann died in 1856.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Schumann Humoreske, op 20
- Copyrighted content: V. Intermezzo
- Claimed by: LatinAutor, LatinAutorPerf, and Audiam (Publishing)
23. Ravel died in 1937. Also, this is not the version for piano duo, but for piano solo.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Ravel transc. Charlot Mother Goose Suite
- Copyrighted content: Ma mère l’oye, M. 60: IV. Les entretiens de la belle et de la bête (Version for Piano Duo)
- Claimed by: LatinAutorPerf
24. Beethoven died in 1827.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Beethoven Sonata no 23 in F minor, op 57 “Appassionata”
- Copyrighted content: 3. Allegro ma non troppo
- Claimed by: ICE_CS
25. Hugo Wolf died in 1903.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Wolf transc Reger 12 Mörike Lieder
- Copyrighted content: Jägerlied
- Claimed by: UMPG Publishing
26. Hugo Wolf died in 1903.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Wolf transc Reger 12 Mörike Lieder
- Copyrighted content: Wolf: Mörike-Lieder, Volume 2: No. 16, Elfenlied, “Bei Nacht im Dorf der Wächter rief”
- Claimed by: LatinAutorPerf and Wise Music Group
27. Hugo Wolf died in 1903.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Wolf transc Reger 12 Mörike Lieder
- Copyrighted content: No. 25, Schlafendes Jesuskind
- Claimed by: UMPG Publishing
28. Hugo Wolf died in 1903.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Wolf transc Reger 12 Mörike Lieder
- Copyrighted content: Fussereise
- Claimed by: UMPG Publishing
29. Hugo Wolf died in 1903.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Wolf transc Reger 12 Mörike Lieder
- Copyrighted content: No. 28, Gebet
- Claimed by: UMPG Publishing
30. Schumann died in 1856.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Schumann Kirchner Bilder aus Osten op 66
- Copyrighted content: I. Lebhaft (B-Flat Minor)
- Claimed by: Audiam (Publishing)
31. Schumann died in 1856.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Schumann transc. Kirchner Dichterliebe, op 48
- Copyrighted content: 5. Ich will meine Seele tauchen
- Claimed by: ECAD_CS
32. Schumann died in 1856.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Schumann transc. Kirchner Dichterliebe, op 48
- Copyrighted content: 14. Allnächtlich im Traume seh’ ich dich
- Claimed by: ECAD_CS
33. Schumann died in 1856.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Schumann transc. Kirchner Liederkreis, op. 39
- Copyrighted content: Frühlingsnacht
- Claimed by: BMG Rights Management (US), LLC and ARESA
34. Schumann died in 1856.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Schumann transc. Kirchner Liederkreis, op. 39
- Copyrighted content: Wehmut
- Claimed by: ICE_CS
35. Mendelssohn died in 1847.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Mendelssohn transc. Kirchner 10 Songs
- Copyrighted content: Bei der Wiege
- Claimed by: LatinAutorPerf
36. Mendelssohn died in 1847.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Mendelssohn Adagio in D major
- Copyrighted content: 2. Adagio [Sonata in C minor (1820)]
- Claimed by: LatinAutorPerf
37. Marcello died in 1739.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Marcello transc. Alkan ‘I cieli immensi narranno’ from Psalm 18
- Copyrighted content: Psalm XIX
- Claimed by: UMPI and Audiam (Publishing)
38. Fauré died in 1924.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Faure Nocturne no 4, Barcarolles 1,7,9,10
- Copyrighted content: Barcarolle No. 10 in A Minor, Op. 104 No. 2
- Claimed by: UMPG Publishing
39. Fauré died in 1924.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Faure Nocturne no 4, Barcarolles 1,7,9,10
- Copyrighted content: Nocturne For Piano No. 4 In E Major, Op. 36
- Claimed by: Antioch Publishing Services
There are also several cases of misidentification. I received this notification:
- Video title: John Kersey plays Nicolai Rimsky Korsakov transc Walter Niemann Hymn to the Sun
- Copyrighted content: The Golden Cockerel: Hymn to the Sun (Arr. By Julius Chaloff for Piano Solo)
- Claimed by: LatinAutorPerf, UNIAO BRASILEIRA DE EDITORAS DE MUSICA – UBEM, and LatinAutor – UMPG
But I did not record Julius Chaloff’s arrangement of this work (which is still in copyright). I recorded the arrangement by Walter Niemann, who died in 1953 and all of whose work has been in the public domain since 18 June 2023.
And whatever “Prelude To Sadness” might be has nothing whatsoever to do with the public domain work I have recorded.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Stephen Heller Aux mânes de Frédéric Chopin – Élégie et Marche funebre, op. 71
- Copyrighted content: Prelude To Sadness
- Claimed by: SourceAudio Holdings (music publishing)
Perhaps most egregious are the cases where my playing is misidentified as that of another pianist. I suppose it might be flattering to be mistaken for Paul Lewis, but the reality is that his and my views of Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” could not be more different, and could not be mistaken for each other by anyone remotely familiar with musical performance.
- Video title: John Kersey plays Beethoven Sonata op 106
- Copyrighted content: Sonate No. 29 “Hammerklavier” en Si bémol majeur, Op. 106: IV. Largo – Allegro risoluto
- Claimed by: Harmonia Mundi
My performance is here. Paul Lewis’s is here.
That then brings me to my dispute with Sony. Sony have falsely claimed that my recording of Felix Mottl and Otto Singer’s transcription for solo piano of Wagner’s Prelude to “Tristan and Isolde” is their recording of Michel Dalberto playing the transcription of the same work by Zoltan Kocsis.
Here is my recording. Here is Dalberto’s. It is patently obvious that they are very different; they are not even of the same transcription.
Sony blocked my video on this basis as soon as it was uploaded. I disputed this, pointing out the facts in question, and Sony then rejected my appeal and persisted in the lie that my home-made recording was the same as their expensive studio production with a famous pianist.
| “After reviewing your appeal, SME has confirmed that your video contains copyrighted material that hasn’t been approved for use in your video. |
| Video title: John Kersey plays Wagner transc Mottl and Singer Tristan Prelude Copyrighted content: Tristan et Isolde: Prélude Claimed by: SME” |
Currently, they are demanding that I take down the video or they will have it removed and copyright strike my channel. I have written to them and they have ignored my email. Is Michel Dalberto aware that his label is acting in such a monstrous manner? Does he support his recording being used as a blunt weapon against another pianist?
If necessary, I will pursue this matter through legal action. A creative artist is nothing without integrity. To persist in insisting that my performance is not my own, and to claim falsely that I have copied or used the work of another artist, is libellous. I have no intention of being silenced by Sony or anyone else in the commercial music establishment. If I eventually have to move my recordings from YouTube to another host, I will do so. But while I am there, I will fight against these iniquities, and expose them as much as is possible.
Why does everything today have to be such a struggle against faceless Kafka-esque entities, in a world where objective truth seems to be fading before our eyes? I, for one, am very grateful to you for all your efforts, and I shall work my way through all your recordings – and an impressive list it is, if I may say so. I am particularly looking forward to comparing your ‘Hammerklavier’ with that of Paul Lewis.
I regard myself as being fairly well ‘clued-up’ on obscure composers. But you have found a number of composers that I had never even heard of! I regard it as beneficial to promote the music of those composers who were really pretty good in their own right, but who had the misfortune to live their lives in the shadows of giants, or who made the fatal mistake of being born the ‘wrong’ gender, and then compounding that error by failing to write an opera (Louise Farrenc springs to mind!).
Not that I like opera – it’s ok till they start singing in my view. It would be interesting to dispense with the ‘trained’ operatic singing technique, and use more natural voices, which would be perfectly possible with today’s technology. But I digress!
Keep up the good work!
Professor Kersey,
As someone who was not steeped in culture and is not used to classical music, I hope it is not inappropriate to say that your endeavours make it seem more accessible, and I have enjoyed listening to your music in the background while working (though I have also had some funny looks from people who probably think I’m turning posh or old, or both).
Thank you.
I note that in some cases, the same firm has made more than one (you say) FALSE claim to own the copyright of YOUR performance of a piece of music that is itself out of copyright. In such cases, if you live in the UK, you may have a valid claim against the firm concerned under the Protection From Harassment Act.
You may also have a harassment claim against YouTube, for (as the statute puts it) it a harassing “course of conduct”, to wit that it repeatedly upholds false copyright claims against you. That’d really set the cat amongst the pigeons.
One remedy you can plead for is an injunction to prevent further false claims (or their upholding), and probably also to require the withdrawal of any false claims (or their dismissal in the case of YouTube). But you can also claim damages for past damages. And you’d ordinarily be entitled to your costs (see below).
I am not a lawyer myself by trade. In fact, I’m a pensioner so poor that I am on means-tested benefits. From time to time, I earn extra pocket money that doesn’t affect my benefits by going to court when people wrong me outrageously, as you report you have been wronged, if they are slow to apologise and to desist and/or to make amends. For example, I sued an electricity supplier last year, for persistently trying to collect from me a fictitious debt. I kept a careful record of all the time of mine they’d wasted, with their bogus demands for money I didn’t owe them and charged them at £19 an hour.
I’d be happy to brief you briefly, free of charge, with any non-contractual gratuity you want to tip me with (if any) after you’d won at your sole discretion (unless agreed otherwise), how I have used this charmingly flexible piece of legislation successfully myself, or how otherwise to proceed.as a litigant-in-person.
This offer may be kept until needed. You are (Tom implies) a professor, and one who plays classical music; i.e. the sort of posh bloke who might sneeze at a mere £19 an hour tax-free in his pocket. By all means consult professional lawyers first, and only come back to me if and when they make the “not interested” noises I expect them to, or ask you to deposit several thousand pounds with them before they’ll so much as fire off a letter.
One thing’s for certain, if what you say is true. You have been wronged, by people better able to afford lawyers than you likely are. Your case is interesting, touching upon topical ideas like AI in which the press might take interest. It’d be a lost opportunity to contribute to the AI etc debate for you to do nothing. Whether you do it all yourself, or hire a law firm that instructs a barrister, or are tempted to go for my proposed hybrid solution, one way or another, please do it. Start sending out those “letters before action”.
The beauty of the Protection From Harassment Act is that UK caselaw establishes that the jurisdiction of the UK courts is worldwide, because harassment has been held to have occurred where the victim lives, not where the perpetrator does business.
That would be fun. I believe the Small Claims Court makes no orders for costs, so it would be a one-way bet.
^damages for past harassment, not “damages for past damages”