I am totally flummoxed by the rationale (if any) behind the ongoing removal of videos on YouTube due to "terms of use violation", "copyright restrictions" or other lame excuses.

This censorship seems to me to be a typical knee jerk reaction by corporate "suits" who are incapable of thinking outside the box (if I may borrow their own jargon for a moment)

If a performer is featured on a YouTube video, assuming that the video is of decent quality, then there is no possible downside to this either for the artiste or the "copyright holder".

I have stated this before on Mudcat, but why, oh why, instead of simply removing these videos, do the complainants not allow a portion of the video to be viewed, and then provide a link to a site where the total performance can be purchased online ?

I have recently been going through the YouTube Permathread(which I moderate) and have been shocked at the number of videos which I and others have submitted and which are no longer available to view.

I accept that within the letter of the law there may be legal reasons for removal, but surely these short-sighted corporate robots are capable of seeing at least a small corner of the greater picture ?