Earlier today, did something simple and honest. I recorded a short video of myself singing the Star-Spangled Banner. No music, no production, just my voice singing a song that means something to me. It was a casual, personal moment, recorded in my own living room a cappella. I decided to upload it to my YouTube channel—not to gain followers or make money, but simply so I could save it and find it later. That’s it.
Not long after uploading, I received an email that stunned me.
YouTube notified me that a company named Hexacorp had filed a copyright claim against my video. According to their automated detection system, I had apparently used copyrighted content. But here’s the kicker: I didn’t. It was just me, singing the national anthem, a song that belongs to the American people. No instruments, no background track, nothing but my own voice.
So I’m asking—what exactly is copyrighted about that?
Hexacorp is a company I’ve never interacted with, never heard of, and certainly have no affiliation with. The claim mentions BMI and credits someone for the melody, but again, this was an a cappella performance of a historic anthem. There was no borrowed content involved. It’s difficult to express how baffling and frustrating this feels. Not only was the video flagged, but YouTube also removed its visibility and made it ineligible for monetization. And just to be clear, I had zero intention of monetizing it in the first place. It was just a patriotic, personal moment.
Of course, I filed a dispute. I believe strongly that this is wrong and should not be allowed to stand. The copyright claim is unfair, and the idea that bots can now flag someone’s original voice for simply singing a national anthem is absurd.
I tried to do some research and found a few threads on Reddit discussing similar experiences. Turns out, Hexacorp has been mentioned before for automated copyright claims that don’t always make sense. Based on what I’ve read, it’s difficult to get any real answers or support, and everything seems to point to a bot making decisions without context.
At the end of the day, this is not about gaining views or attention. It’s about the principle. About standing up for what’s right. About not letting flawed systems silence creativity or honest expression.
I’ll keep you posted on how this turns out. For now, all I can do is wait for the dispute to be reviewed. I’m hopeful this gets resolved the way it should be. Because this is a fight worth having.
To be continued…
