File Sharing Software Names Censored in Music Video

MTV have reached a new level of censorship or, at least, it appears so. Their new music video site which launched October 28includes a Weird Al Yankovic clip which is generously bleeped out. Now, here’s the interesting part – the bleeping is not done to hide strong swearing or something similar as it is pretty common in radio and TV broadcasting but to hide file sharing service names.

These are the first lyrics of the clip for Weird Al Yankovic’s hit “Don’t Download This Song”:

Once in a while maybe you will feel the urge
To break international copyright law
By downloading MP3s from file-sharing sites
Like Morpheus or Grokster or Limewire or KaZaA

The song parodies the RIAA, the video shows a kid getting shot by police for downloading music, and it suggests you’ll burn in hell for file-sharing

CrunchGear posted a comment by Mike Weiss (Former CEO, Morpheus) :

When the video first was released by Weird Al, Morpheus sought permission from Sony Music to distribute the video as a promotion for Weird Al. Unfortunately Sony denied the request. There were no bleeps of the names of Morpheus or the others when the video was first released so it seems a bit odd that Weird Al would censor his own song over a year after release. Also Wilson Sonsini was the first law firm (along with the EEF) representing Morpheus, but Arrington was not on the case. MTV is not owned by the record labels so it also seems odd that MTV would censor the video. But what is interesting, after 7 years and the tens of millions of dollars spent on litigating Morpheus, Kazaa and Grokster to death (not to mention a very odd ruling by the US Supreme Ct), and Limewire’s legal process trailing by a few years–that someone someplace believes that by bleeping out these names will have any effect on the future of the music industry when all the litigation did not. Just weird…but lots of weird stuff goes on behind the scenes.

While some think this might be intentional from MTV trying to make it funnier for an audience that are already familiar with those sites and the associated controversy most people believe this actually shows an effort from the MTV to stay within the favours of record labels and to appease the RIAA and other artists that believe in RIAA's policy.

Here’s the clip which obviously parodies the RIAA: