# YouTube: "Sorry, this video is not available on mobile." Why?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-sorry-this-video-is-not-available-on-mobile-why/654730>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 3, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-sorry-this-video-is-not-available-on-mobile-why/654730 "2013-04-03T13:56:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-sorry-this-video-is-not-available-on-mobile-why/654730/1 "2013-04-03T13:56:37Z")

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When I want to listen to a song I don’t have in my library, I’ll generally look to YouTube as they have studio versions of most songs on their site. However, when I do a search for a song on my phone, I’ll only find live or cover versions. If I get smart and put in a direct link to the song on my phone, the video won’t play, instead giving me a message “Sorry, this video is not available on mobile.” Sometimes it adds, “At the owner’s request.” (or something similar).

Why would either YouTube or the song owner not want me hearing/watching their video on my mobile device?

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**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\
**Post date:** [April 3, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-sorry-this-video-is-not-available-on-mobile-why/654730/2 "2013-04-03T14:40:21Z")

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Because their licensing arrangements with the record labels don’t cover mobile devices. The contracts when written often didn’t specify payments schemes or they’re covered under different licensing schemes.