Popular Lofi Girl Stream Taken Off YouTube After False Copyright Claim By M'sian Company
YouTube has since called the takedown requests "abusive" and promised to reinstate the livestreams.
By May Vin Ang — 12 Jul 2022, 02:34 PM
Fans from all over the world were upset when several livestreams on popular YouTube channel, Lofi Girl, were removed over copyright claims made by a Malaysian record label company
On Sunday, 10 July, after several users reported that they could no longer play the livestreams, Lofi Girl tweeted that its channel had been falsely accused of copyright violations.
They wrote, "Lofi radios have been taken down because of false copyright strikes, hopefully YouTube will sort this out quickly."
Attached was a screenshot of an email stating that it's video lofi hip hop radio - beats to relax/study to received a copyright strike due to a complaint by FMC Music Sdn Bhd Malaysia, a company based in Kuala Lumpur.
The video, with its widely-recognisable animation of a girl studying at her desk with headphones on, is popular for its calming music that people enjoy listening to while studying or working
The years-long livestream has over 668 million views on YouTube. According to VICE, the video would have been seven years old if it had not been the victim of another false copyright claim in 2020, which had reset its publication date.
After Sunday's takedown, Business Insider reported that another one of Lofi Girl's popular streams, beats to sleep/chill to, was also removed as a result of a copyright violation claim.
They reported that false copyright strikes have been a common issue for YouTube and its creators, as bad actors often falsely report videos for unknown reasons.
YouTube has since confirmed that the copyright complaints were false and apologised for taking down the videos
In a tweet on Monday, 11 July, the company "confirmed the takedown requests were abusive" and terminated the account of the complainant.
It said it also withdrew the copyright strikes that were issued to the account after the false report.
The company said it can take up to 48 hours for videos to be reinstated.
Meanwhile, while waiting for the video's return, some fans have have taken to FMC Music's social media pages to criticise the company for their alleged complaint against the YouTube channel.
SAYS has reached out to FMC Music for comment and has not received a reply as of writing.
