Yesterday the bathroom harmonizing duet Rin on the Rox was deleted from YouTube after having the number 1 most viewed video of the day and breaking through in several places on the Most Viewed of All Time list. The two are a pair of waitresses from California’s Bay Area. Their uncanny singing abilities have gotten them attention from an unlikely benefactor. Recently Ellen Degeneres had them on her show after seeing their YouTube videos and giving them a general shout out to come on. Following their appearance Ellen began her “bathroom concert series”, and has sent the girls to the Emmys where the girls took videos to bring back to Ellen. This weekend they will be going to the Oscars for the Ellen show.

There is now a snag in the good fortune for these lucky chantueses, in some cases their cover versions of songs have gotten as many hits as the original artists. Apparently that made someone at one of the record companies angry. But removing them from YouTube is going to have a huge ripple effect. Rin and Rox have literally millions of fans that will flock to them elsewhere and support them.

Licensed music we are presuming is what got their account pulled. However if I am not mistaken, they are using karoke versions of songs. Those versions are a form of licensed use since companies like Sony sell them, and networking services like Myspace offer karoke songs as a perk with membership. Is singing in the bathroom now litigious? Is uploading your own, not nearly as brilliant as Rin and Rox,  karoke performance also illegal?

In this situation has the technology exceeded its expectations? How many karoke singers are good enough, in a bathroom, no less to get discovered? When the tumblers of the numbers game flip a switch to accidental success suddenly all bets are off and the service providers cease to be benign.

In light of Facebook’s attempt to literally “own your face” this week, the greedier side of internet network providers has been laid bare. When the CEO’s consider that the future’s next Britany Spears, or Micheal Phelps is out there smoking something they shouldn’t, or getting naked and uploading it today, they want to be assured of a piece of it for tommorrow. Like Rin and Rox, when people’s futures are being sold as “content” have we entered an era of digital slavery?