Following a blackout period of about six months, music videos are set to make their return to YouTube UK. YouTube’s worked out an agreement with PRS for Music, a trade body that collects royalties and at one point asked to be paid about 0.36 cents each time a clip was played.
It was when YouTube UK’s previous agreement with PRS expired that the problems began. YouTube representatives argued that a proposed new arrangement would cause it to lose money every time someone watched a music video. PRS, citing Google’s riches, was unsympathetic. So YouTube UK just pulled all music videos that had been supplied or claimed by record labels.
Now, a post on the YouTube Biz Blog has stated, “We’re happy to announce today that we have reached a deal with the PRS for Music and so premium music is returning to YouTube in the UK. Both the PRS for Music and YouTube have worked hard to produce a deal that is a good for everyone involved, including the YouTube community, music fans, the record labels, YouTube, and the songwriters and composers the PRS for Music represents.”
The new deal should keep the two sides acting civil for a while, as it runs through June 2012. It supposedly has YouTube paying the PRS a lump sum instead of proceeding on a per-clip basis.
This is a significant development for YouTube UK, since it was almost surely losing users (or at least a lot of views) over its lack of music videos. The breakthrough might provide hope that a similar solution will be reached in Germany, too.
