YouTube concedes to UK music rights group

Stephen Withers
Friday, 31 August 2007 13:19

Your IT - Home IT

YouTube has agreed to license the rights to more than 10 million pieces of music covered by the UK's MCPS-PRS Alliance.

This is the first time such an agreement has been finalised with YouTube. Various organisations are taking action against the Google subsidiary alleging copyright infringement.

"We are delighted to have concluded this deal with YouTube and to be the first collecting society outside the US to do so," said Steve Porter, chief executive of the MCPS-PRS Alliance. "Whether it is music videos, user uploads or other audio visual content, our agreement will allow our 50,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members to be paid when their creative talents are being enjoyed on YouTube's service across the UK."

Terms of the arrangement were not disclosed, but it has been suggested that the flat fee may be in excess of $US50 million. It will be distributed in line with estimates of what music is actually used on the site.

The Financial Times quoted Andrew Shaw, Alliance managing director for broadcast and online as saying "The long-tail is not worth calculating." This means only the rightsholders of the most popular pieces of music are likely to share in the loot. So struggling composers needn't bother uploading their own material in the hope that a modest audience will bring in a few quid. You might not need a songbook with the reach of Lennon and McCartney's, but it seems this deal is for the benefit of the big players.

"We're pleased to be working in cooperation with the MCPS-PRS Alliance to provide the YouTube community in the UK with the best possible user experience," said Chad Hurley, CEO and co-founder of YouTube said. Putting the best possible spin on the situation, he added "This agreement is another great example of how we are working with the music industry to explore new and creative ways to compensate music creators."

The not-for-profit MCPS-PRS Alliance collects payments for mechanical and performance rights on behalf of its members.