YouTube to Silence Music Videos in the U.K.

YouTube on Monday stated that because talks have broken down between it and the U.K.'s Performing Right Society (PRS for Music), which collects licensing fees for artists and labels, it would be "silencing" music videos in that country.

Here's what was posted on YouTube's blog:

Our previous licence from PRS for Music has expired, and we've been unable so far to come to an agreement to renew it on terms that are economically sustainable for us. There are two obstacles in these negotiations: prohibitive licensing fees and lack of transparency. We value the creativity of musicians and songwriters and have worked hard with rights-holders to generate significant online revenue for them and to respect copyright. But PRS is now asking us to pay many, many times more for our licence than before. The costs are simply prohibitive for us - under PRS's proposed terms we would lose significant amounts of money with every playback. In addition, PRS is unwilling to tell us what songs are included in the license they can provide so that we can identify those works on YouTube -- that's like asking a consumer to buy an unmarked CD without knowing what musicians are on it.

We're still working with PRS for Music in an effort to reach mutually acceptable terms for a new licence, but until we do so we will be blocking premium music videos in the UK that have been supplied or claimed by record labels. This was a painful decision, and we know the significant disappointment it will cause within the UK. And to be clear, this is not an issue with the record labels, with most of whom we have strong relationships.

Basically, the PRS for Music wants more money than YouTube wants to pay. You don't even need to read the whole post to understand that; it's clear from the first sentence above.

But according to PRS for Music:

"Google has told us they are taking this step because they wish 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.

"This action has been taken without any consultation with PRS for Music and in the middle of negotiations between the two parties."

Same thing. We want more money than they want to pay. Video blocking was set to begin at 1800 GMT; within two days the majority of videos will be made inaccessible.