YouTube Embed Curation
Music Time Machine uses YouTube's official embed player. The site does not host music files, provide downloads, or copy audio. Its value comes from selecting, organizing, and explaining songs by year and region.
Preferred Video Sources
When adding a song, the first choice is an official music video, official audio, artist channel, label channel, or a stable broadcaster upload. Older songs can be difficult because official uploads may not exist or may be blocked in some regions. In those cases, the archive favors a source that is playable, clearly labeled, and close to the original recording or a recognized performance.
- Official music video or official audio when available.
- Artist, label, broadcaster, or verified archival channels when official uploads are unavailable.
- Stable videos that allow embedding and can be loaded through the YouTube player.
- Clear title and artist information so visitors know what they are hearing.
Why Videos Sometimes Change
YouTube availability is controlled by rights holders and uploaders. A video that works today may later be removed, blocked by region, disabled for embedding, or replaced by a better official upload. Music Time Machine treats those changes as normal maintenance rather than a failure of the archive.
The player includes a broken video report path so visitors can identify a problem entry. Helpful reports include the year, region, artist, title, and what happened during playback. That lets the archive replace the ID without changing the surrounding year context.
What The Site Adds Beyond Embeds
An embedded video provides access to a recording, but it does not explain why that recording belongs in a year or what a listener should compare. Music Time Machine adds year navigation, region comparison, decade essays, an editorial policy, regional histories, and dated update notes. Songs are presented as part of a listening map rather than as isolated clips.
The archive also records limitations openly. It does not claim to be an official chart, and it does not claim ownership over music or videos. It provides context and a better way to discover what a period sounded like.
Replacement Rules
When a video must be replaced, the replacement should preserve the same song whenever possible. If no stable source exists, a nearby representative track may be selected only when it improves the listening experience and fits the year. Duplicate video IDs within the same local playlist are avoided because they reduce discovery value.
This practical approach is especially important for older Korean, Japanese, and Brazilian songs. Availability varies by rights holder and region, so maintenance is part of responsible curation.
Made for Kids, Embedding, and Player Integrity
The maintenance workflow can use the YouTube Data API to verify that a reference is public, embeddable, and not designated Made for Kids before it remains in embedded playback. The API credential is used only by the private maintenance or CI environment and is never included in public site code.
A Made for Kids, non-public, missing, or non-embeddable reference is removed from the embedded catalog or handled as an external YouTube link while it is reviewed. The public player preserves YouTube controls, keeps a minimum 200 by 200 pixel viewport, and does not place overlays or advertising over the video.
YouTube scripts and the privacy-enhanced iframe are not loaded when the page or listening window first opens. They load only after a visitor explicitly chooses Play. When a track ends outside a sufficiently visible player, the next track is cued rather than automatically played.