YouTube is not a church approved broadcast service?

[Mikerowaved]

"YouTube and other services … are not approved as official tools for broadcasting" isn't the same as "YouTube and other services … are not approved for broadcasting."

Very true. We've been using YouTube for years. I was instructed from the beginning that if we used other streaming services (like YT) that there would be no support from Global Service. I believe this is still true. For the time being, the church tech support staff will most likely be trained to solve Zoom problems only.

[barkeraj]

As we discussed it in our stake, we came up with the following analogous scenario.

The church has official YW camps that they support. They have missionaries there to support, standards will be kept so that you won't have a drunken party next door, etc. But the entire church is not required to use them, or many do not not even have access to them. That doesn't mean you can't use another camp. You won't get built-in missionaries, you may have to deal with a party next door, etc. but other options are available.

This local broadcast things feels similar. The church is providing an official zoom solution. There is support there, and you won't have a drunken party (you may also like THIS video), next door. This doesn't mean you can't use another streaming service. You won't get support, you will have other videos promoted, etc. but other options are available.

Anyway... by no means an official statement, but it helped our discussion and thought it may help others

[mmatute]

To provide additional context, the reliance on YouTube and local YouTube accounts for local unit broadcasts has become increasingly problematic due to potential risks that can impact the church's primary channel and its participation in the YouTube partnership program.

Although we are currently not restricting the use of YouTube Live, we are encouraging local event managers to shift from using YouTube to using Zoom whenever possible. By using a church sponsored Zoom license, event managers can more effectively communicate with members about local unit broadcasts through the new Live-Watch page found at Broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Additionally, we're working on making local zoom events available on the new Gospel Stream mobile app, ensuring that all local, area, and headquarters-sponsored events can be accessed from a single channel.

This change will enhance the accessibility and convenience of local unit broadcasts for members by enabling viewing options in frequently used TV applications and will only be available using the church-sponsored Zoom licenses.

If you choose to continue using YouTube, please take the following precautions to limit the risk of the church’s flagship channel being taken down.
• Do not use the name of the Church in your channel name or channel dashboard info.
• Avoid use of any copyrighted materials
• The YouTube recording of the live streams should be deleted by the end of the day
• Be mindful of content being published to Ward or Stake channels

A general handbook revision is being recommended that will provide specific instructions around YouTube and its use in local unit broadcasting. Watch for a follow up communication with additional guidance.

The Meetinghouse technology team is also looking at options to enhance the streaming capabilities of the Zoom platform to enable a full transition more seamlessly from YouTube to Zoom for those that cannot make the transition immediate.

[Mikerowaved]

Thanks for your input, mmatute. It's nice to know what MHT is planning.

• Avoid use of any copyrighted materials

Not likely, since many of our church hymns get flagged for copyright infringement by YouTube.

[russellhltn]

Thanks for the heads up!

Avoid use of any copyrighted materials

For Sacrament meetings, the main concern is the music used. I don't think there's much opportunity for any other kind.

Is there any specific guidelines on song selection? I know some hymns in the hymnbook have restrictive copyrights. Including such favorites like "All Creatures of Our God and King", "How Great Thou Art", and "Because I Have Been Given Much". These are not available on the church webpage due to copyright restrictions.

I know that's not an exhaustive list, but I'm looking for guidance of what is OK and what is not. Do we have to avoid all copyrighted music, or can we use that which is copyrighted by IRI?

[russellhltn]

By using a church sponsored Zoom license, event managers can more effectively communicate with members about local unit broadcasts through the new Live-Watch page found at Broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Additionally, we're working on making local zoom events available on the new Gospel Stream mobile app, ensuring that all local, area, and headquarters-sponsored events can be accessed from a single channel.

This raises another question as to what the "vision" is for webcasts. Section 29.7 encourages in-person attendance for sacrament and stake conference. Is this a "teach them correct principles" thing or will this go though some kind a bishop's approval process for shut-ins?

At least in my stake, outside of sacrament and stake conference, I don't think there's much in the way of webcasts that would be of much interest to a large number of the members. So I'm puzzled by what seems to be an effort to make everything available to members within the limits of unit boundaries.

[Jacobdaviddean]

...problematic due to potential risks that can impact the church's primary channel and its participation in the YouTube partnership program.

I have managed the YouTube channel for a local NBC station for the past 12 years. We have YouTube partner status and access to the Copyright Match Tool. I've dealt with many copyright claims (both initiating claims on other channels and disputing claims on our own). I'll be honest: I was surprised when I started seeing copyright claims on our Stake YouTube channel for the melodies from a live piano or organ performance. That was a new scenario for me.

While I'm not 100% aware of all of YouTube's intricacies and policies, I have never heard of actions of one channel affecting the status of a completely unrelated (in terms of account ownership) channel.

Can you provide more information on the concerns you're facing?

Just to be clear, I in no way mean to imply this is untrue or unwarranted concern. There are plenty of search results for "Stake Conference" on YouTube that are months/years old.

[russellhltn]

I'll be honest: I was surprised when I started seeing copyright claims on our Stake YouTube channel for the melodies from a live piano or organ performance. That was a new scenario for me.

I know this is going on a tangent, but one of the things I played with was BirdNET - an app that can identify birds by their songs. The way it works is they plot the frequency spectrum into a "waterfall" display, and then use an AI "human vision" to look for matches with it's database.

It occurs to me that YT's "content match" may work much in the same way. This may explain some of it's capabilities of matching tunes from different performances.

As for what you saw on your stake's channel, was it match to a copyrighted song, or did it think it was too close to a copyrighted performance of a out of copyright tune?

[nitzer280]

A general handbook revision is being recommended that will provide specific instructions around YouTube and its use in local unit broadcasting. Watch for a follow up communication with additional guidance.

Really appreciate this entire response; thank you.

[Mikerowaved]

For Sacrament meetings, the main concern is the music used.

It's NOT a concern, or at least it shouldn't be. Our stake channel gets flagged every week for music from our various ward webcasts, but YT doesn't count it as a strike against my stake account because...

• we're not monetizing the content
• (quoted from our YT channel) "Copyright-protected content found. The owner allows the content to be used on YouTube."

In addition to some prelude & postlude organ music, hymns like. "Love One Another", and "The Spirit of God" were flagged last Sunday with the above message from YT. In fact, I've never seen anything besides that YT message in all the years I've been streaming stake conferences, sacrament meetings, funerals, etc.

I just see the whole copyright thing as a non-issue when sticking to either the hymn book or similar music.