Nintendo is erasing its music, and community, from YouTube

digitaltrends.com:

Nintendo has long been known for its expansive range of high-quality, nostalgic tunes, creating everything from the inquisitive piano sounds of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to the tear-jerking leitmotifs found throughout the soundtrack of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. While Nintendo sometimes releases official soundtracks of its games, the majority of its music can only be found within the games themselves, which makes it difficult to listen to a favorite song. To fill the gap, some creators have taken it on themselves to upload songs, soundtracks, and entire collections of Nintendo music to platforms like YouTube in order to make it more easily accessible by fans.

But another thing that Nintendo is known for is its ruthless copyright protection tactics. Game music uploads on YouTube are no exception, as many creators have been dismayed to find out throughout the years. A recent rise in copyright claims and takedown notices has many creators questioning how fans will be able to access otherwise hard-to-find soundtracks and songs that they’d normally need to boot up their consoles for.

If the company insists on keeping YouTube and other sites free of its music, it must make them more easily available to eager fans — not just for money or nostalgia, but for preservation.

Creators and Nintendo music enthusiasts have been uploading the company’s music to YouTube for others to listen to for nearly two decades. The videos are occasionally monetized, meaning that creators can make money off of YouTube’s ad program, but oftentimes they aren’t. Some creators upload single songs that they enjoy, while others create playlists with Nintendo music or upload an entire game’s soundtrack in order to make it easier to access. A