On Saturday at Coachella, Justin Bieber played a significant part of his set from YouTube. Instead of performing his older hits in full, he used snippets of songs and even showed covers from his younger days. Experts clarify that the sale of his music catalogue did not prevent him from playing these snippets.

The Daily Mail speculated that the reason for this was the sale of Bieber's back catalog to Recognition Music Group, but legal experts say this is incorrect. The relevant copyright here is the public performance right in the songs, which are licensed through PROs, allowing Bieber to perform them.

While it might seem like a practical move, there’s no evidence that Recognition Music Group would want to restrict Bieber's performances of his old music. In fact, increased attention on the original videos and recordings could increase streams for their benefit. Nonetheless, for Bieber fans, the setlist offered a nostalgic trip down memory lane with early hits like “Baby” and “Favorite Girl.”

Meanwhile, we’re left wondering if Justin might have been better off keeping both his music and his old YouTube content.