Study, Chill, Stream Lofi, and Repeat: From a Passion Project to a Recent Target of Large Corporate Music Publishers

Ask yourself: what does the perfect workspace look and feel like? The answer varies from person to person. Some people prefer to work in crowded cafes, while others need complete silence. The concern became even more relevant during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, when many individuals were working remotely.¹ As it does with many things, the internet came to our rescue and provided us with creative ways to yield efficiency. To spice up your WFH office arrangement, it provides different sources of background music that can help tune out distractions, regulate stress, increase productivity, and even improve sleep.² YouTube, for example, is the host of channels and feeds that exclusively provide ambient background music. Lofi is a genre that has gained significant popularity in recent years, particularly among students and young professionals.³

What is Lofi

Instrumental beats from rap, jazz, and electronic music influence the Lofi genre of music. ⁴ It was named in part after its distinct sound, which is described as “low fidelity,” which differs from mainstream “high-fidelity music” that is considered “higher quality production.”⁵  On YouTube, it is often used in tandem with animations and graphics. The arguably most viral Lofi YouTube channel is Lofi Girl.  Lofi Girl is a famous French YouTube channel and the most successful subsidiary of Lofi Records.⁶ It started as a YouTube channel called ChilledCow, created by a French marketing student known as “Dimitri” in 2015.⁷ In 2017, Dimitri launched the first Lofi Girl livestream. Today, Lofi Girl provides 24/7 live stream videos that depict animated cartoon women studying, often looking out the window and writing in their notebooks.⁸  The different background songs that appear in the stream are songs created by Lofi Studio’s repertoire of artists and musicians that create its specific style of relaxed and unique Lofi music. The channel’s success has reached monumental heights, recently reaching 14 million subscribers on YouTube. ⁹

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act and YouTube

Since Lofi Girl and its derivates exist on the internet, they are subject to the requirements of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”).¹⁰ Amongst other things, the DMCA  is the governing authority that allows copyright owners to alert internet sites that site users are infringing on their intellectual property.¹¹  In 2022, the Lofi Girl YouTube channel was subject copyright strikes pursuant to the DMCA, which were ultimately found to be false.  It resulted in the channel being temporarily unavailable, leading to a backlash amongst fans.

YouTube’s copyright policy states that if “a copyright owner submits a valid DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) complaint through our webform, we take that down video and apply a copyright strike.”¹² The policy states further that “[i]f a user gets three copyright strikes in 90 days, their account, along with associated channels, will be terminated.”¹³ Critics of YouTube’s copyright takedown policy note that its reporting system does not conduct manual and  thorough efforts to filter legitimate copyright claims from claims filed by “internet trolls.”¹⁴ Instead, it relies on an automated system that, many argue, struggles to differentiate between good faith and bad faith copyright claims. In this case, YouTube’s system failed to detect the bad-faith copyright claim. 

Under pressure due to the negative reaction of Lofi Girl’s loyal fanbase, YouTube put out a statement, confessing their prior conclusion was misguided. ¹⁵  However, the effect of YouTube’s copyright policy and the nuances of creating Lofi music and sharing it on the web have left creatives in the industry feeling frustrated and constrained. ¹⁶Since Lofi in its nature draws upon and samples beats reminiscent of popular hip-hop and jazz tropes¹⁷, creators in the genre may continue to face hurdles when putting out new music.  Lofi provided a solution for creatives by offering the use of DMCA-free music under certain conditions.¹⁸

Lofi Studios has an arsenal of musicians and artists who create Lofi music while also using its branding. In this sense, Lofi Girl holds certain patrimonial rights, which, while common in civil law systems, are not as relied on in common law systems. The process works like this: upon providing proper credit to the Lofi Girl website and following the required guidelines, a user¹⁹ has the right to reproduce, broadcast, and share music tracks uploaded by beatmakers, which refer to the artists of the music tracks broadcast on Lofi Girl’s website and social media accounts. The terms and conditions explicitly provide that users may not use the music commercially unless they complete a Lofi commercial license, which allows them to describe how they plan to use the music.²⁰ Lofi Girl used to have a disclaimer on its website that encouraged content creators to use its music as long as they provided the proper credit. However, the site has recently removed such language.²¹

Warner Chappel Music x Lofi Girl Publishing Administration Deal

In early 2024, a press release announced that Warner Chappel Music France, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, signed a publishing administration deal with Lofi Records.²² This deal will allow Warner Chappel Music to have significant input into how Lofi Studio’s artists share and use their Lofi music. A publishing administration agreement allows the songwriter to retain 100% of the song’s copyright ownership. The publisher, on the other hand, receives all of the administration rights to “handle” the song.²³ In this context, handling can involve controlling the distribution of songs to an audience. ²⁴

What does this new administration change mean for future DMCA copyright infringement claims? For starters, with the backing of a big name like Warner Music, in addition to the backlash from fans, we can expect Lofi Girl to receive a blanket layer of extra protection in cases where YouTube users try to report copyright infringement. It also leaves open questions about how future users will be able to use the music that is licensed by Lofi Records. Take, for example, the recent spat between Universal Music Group (“UMG”) and Tiktok, which consequently barred TikTok users from utilizing music in UMG’s catalog in their content.²⁵

Lofi Girl and Lofi Studios have a culture of inclusivity and support for up-and-coming creators. ²⁶  However, what is in store may be contrary to the mission that Lofi Girl and Lofi Girl Studios set out to achieve in the first place.

Lauren Woods is a second-year law student at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and the Online Editor on Vol. 43 of the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal. Lauren is interested in Intellectual Property and Corporate law. Lauren is the current Secretary of the Cardozo Black Law Student Association and Visual Performing Arts Chair of Cardozo’s Entertainment Law Society. She is currently externing at a boutique intellectual property law firm.