YouTube Leaks & MPA Speaks Out

This one is proving to be a real Larry Page turner- The YouTube / Indie label saga continues as the contract issued by the video streaming site to labels is leaked and the Music Publishers Association (MPA) join the debate.

As previously reported, Trade Associations across the globe are locked into a dispute with the streaming giant over the terms offered on their soon to be launched streaming subscription service and their apparent unwillingness to negotiate.

Digital Music News went as far as publishing the entire contract issued by the Google subsidiary to independent labels. As it’s over 30 pages consisting largely of legalese, The Gen suggests that you head over to Billboard, who have handily condensed it down to five key points.

Unsurprisingly, the crux of the argument is remuneration to rights owners, with YouTube committing around 65.5% as opposed to the near 70% that is emerging as an industry standard from the likes of Spotify and other services. Labels are also concerned that YouTube’s new service will essentially cannibalize the market, reducing the overall pie in the streaming sky.

The MPA joined the BPI in backing the stance of indie trade associations, with CEO Sarah Osborn commenting: “If companies such as Google are now acting in the role of cultural gatekeepers, whether by accident or by design, they must bear some responsibility to not act against the interests of the creators upon whose labour large parts of their business are built”.

There have been no reports of Indie label content being pulled from YouTube as threatened, at least not yet. One thing is certain-despite not yet launching, the YouTube service is already the new Spotify in terms of raising the collective ire of artists, labels and publishers.