Category: Technology Author : Duncan Riley Posted: March 9, 2009
Tags : google, Music Industry, youtube
YouTube is blocking most music videos on the site from UK viewers after royalty negotiations broke down.
YouTube said in a blog post that it would block premium music videos in the UK until it can agree to a new contract with The Performing Rights Society (PRS) that is “economically sustainable.”
“But PRS is now asking us to pay many, many times more for our license than before,” YouTube’s Patrick Walker wrote. “The costs are simply prohibitive for us – under PRS’s proposed terms we would lose significant amounts of money with every playback.”
Walker also claimed that the PRS is unwilling to tell YouTube what songs are included in the licensing renewal being negotiated.
Naturally, PRS blamed YouTube for the mess, saying that the site wants to pay “significantly less than at present to the writers of the music on which their service relies, despite the massive increase in YouTube viewing.”
YouTube said it would continue to try a negotiate a reasonable outcome that will allow the music videos to return.
![[Pic] Young Lady Gaga](http://www.inquisitr.com/wp-content/2011/07/young-lady-gaga-100x100.jpg)
Mar 10, 2009
It’s not the music industry’s fault that YouTube’s business model doesn’t stack up. The model doesn’t support paying the current PRS rates let alone the payment to artists, because they cannot command high enough advertising rates. Because sites like YouTube are built off the back of user generated content, and have a storied past of allowing ‘illegal’ content to be viewed – brands are resistant to pay premium advertising rates.
MUZU.TV (http://www.muzu.tv) was purpose built for the music industry with a viable model that protects the CPM by its 100% focus on premium music content. While the industry needs to look at the minimum stream rates to make new business models viable and sustainable it should not let YouTube hold it to ransom.”