We now know why Jason Aldean's "Try That in a Small Town" music video was edited ... because the production company skirted the rules and used FOX footage without permission.
Sources connected to the music video production tell TMZ ... back when they were producing the video, the company that produced it reached out to FOX on May 8 and asked for permission to use the 6 seconds of video shot by FOX 5 Atlanta ... showing violence at a BLM rally.
We're told the folks at FOX asked for more information ... specifically the lyrics of the song. We're told the production company sent FOX a link to the song -- which was released May 19 -- but the protocol was to send the lyrics in writing, which they never did.
The music video was released July 14 and the footage was in the vid, projecting on the courthouse behind Jason.
Our sources say a week ago, FOX reached out to the production company and asked them to remove the video to avoid any legal action -- which was described to us as a "polite ultimatum" -- and the production company complied.
So the new, edited video has actually been online for an entire week before anyone noticed.