It is purely for streaming the audio of the video. You can even background the audio when the device is locked or when the application is not in the foreground.
Specifically they say it is prohibited to "separate, isolate, or modify the audio or video components of any YouTube audiovisual content made available through the YouTube API;"
and it is prohibited to
"promote separately the audio or video components of any YouTube audiovisual content made available through the YouTube API;"
Like I said, I'm not a lawyer so my interpretation could be wrong.
I think in a nutshell they want you displaying the video because they have their own ads in the videos, and just streaming the audio cuts into their revenue.
Hate to be a wet blanket but I recently built a service using the YouTube API (http://chartbrain.com) and so the terms were fairly fresh in my mind.
I didn't realize that Songza used to do that, or that they'd pivoted their product as much as they have. Their current stuff is pretty great.
And yes, this is a perfect example of the types of use of the YouTube API that are specifically disallowed by their terms. They very much do not like when apps do this.
I came across this app a few weeks ago (maybe an hn or reddit post?) and I have really enjoyed it. Finally youtube streaming the way you always wanted. Queuing, play in background, saved lists, awesome!
Thank you for sharing...
Let me know if you ever need UI/UX/Graphic design work, would love to contribute to such an awesome and worthy project :)
It was one of the goals to be extremely intuitive and easy to use, so I'm glad that that planning paid off. Some tips for lesser known features, swipe to the left on an item to remove it from your Library or playlist. Also, tap and hold on an item in your Library or playlist to see its metadata and information.
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[ 5.9 ms ] story [ 37.5 ms ] threadPS -- I didn't realize you can fetch only the sound part of the youtube file without downloading the video... is that an accurate assumption?
You can read their terms here: https://developers.google.com/youtube/terms
Specifically they say it is prohibited to "separate, isolate, or modify the audio or video components of any YouTube audiovisual content made available through the YouTube API;"
and it is prohibited to
"promote separately the audio or video components of any YouTube audiovisual content made available through the YouTube API;"
Like I said, I'm not a lawyer so my interpretation could be wrong.
I think in a nutshell they want you displaying the video because they have their own ads in the videos, and just streaming the audio cuts into their revenue.
Hate to be a wet blanket but I recently built a service using the YouTube API (http://chartbrain.com) and so the terms were fairly fresh in my mind.
I think other services that used only the audio from YouTube have run into trouble - songza comes to mind, they were one of the first sites to do it. http://www.wired.com/listening_post/2007/11/songza-turns-yo/
And yes, this is a perfect example of the types of use of the YouTube API that are specifically disallowed by their terms. They very much do not like when apps do this.
Thank you for sharing...
Let me know if you ever need UI/UX/Graphic design work, would love to contribute to such an awesome and worthy project :)