Should YouTube really have pulled some music videos at all?
A YouTube boss has claimed that negotiations are going well between the video site’s chiefs and those at the Performing Rights Society (PRS) after their recent row. In March it was revealed that premium music videos had been removed from YouTube due to the dispute. The PRS, which represents music publishers, has been holding out for a better pay deal for artists whose videos are available to watch on the video site. However, YouTube chiefs said the amounts demanded were vastly more than they were willing to pay, so began removing premium music videos while negotiations took place. Since the drastic video removing action took place, Patrick Walker, head of video partnerships for the website, said that the PRS was being a “good partner”, and that progress was being made. “With the labels everything is great. We’re working very hard to come to an arrangement with PRS and we won’t strike a deal unless it makes economic sense,” he told BBC 6music. He added: “They’ve [the PRS] been a good pa
I read an article about this and it stated that a YouTube spokesman confirmed that YouTube is no longer playing music videos belonging to the largest music labels after talks with Germany’s biggest royalty collections group, GEMA, broke down. The conflict is almost identical to YouTube’s spat with a royalty group in the United Kingdom, but with one important twist. According to YouTube, GEMA is asking for royalty rates that are 50 times higher than those asked for by PRS, the British organization, and YouTube argues those are even too high. According to sources close to the negotiations, GEMA is asking for rates far higher than what the group asked for in the original agreement. A GEMA representative could not be reached for comment. But it should be noted that the music industry has often offered favorable financial terms to start-up Web services in initial licensing agreements. [http://news.cnet.com/youtube-now-pulls-music-videos-out-of-germany/] Sources:
