YouTube is in the process of restoring two long-running and widely popular music live streams hosted by Lofi Girl after suspending them on Sunday (July 10) over baseless copyright claims. The channel's flagship stream "lofi hip hop radio - beats to relax/study to" was taken down as well as "beats to sleep/chill to."
In a statement, Lofi Girl claimed the streams had been taken down by "false copyright strikes" and posted a message from YouTube containing information about the suspension.
On Monday morning, YouTube apologized for the removal of the streams and confirmed that the copyright claims had been false. "[C]onfirmed the takedown requests were abusive & terminated the claimants account," YouTube posted in a tweet, adding that the strikes would be removed and the streams reinstated in the next day or two.
The message from YouTube posted by Lofi Girl identifies the claimant as FMC Music, a record label based in Malaysia. However, it's possible that the real claimant was an imposter exploiting cracks in YouTube's Content ID, the automated system that tracks copyright claims in the platform's vast library. As TechDirt points out, two individuals were indicted last year for running a Content ID scam that net them over $20 million. By creating a legitmate-looking shell company, the pair were able to monetize the copyright on music that wasn't theirs.
This is not the first time Lofi Girl has been blocked by YouTube. In 2020, the channel was taken down and quickly restored after major online outcry – in a tweet, YouTube claimed that an internal error led to the account's removal.