When the first YouTube video appeared in 2005, few would’ve imagined the different areas it would grow to cover: live events, music, TV, movies, hilarious cat videos and so on.
Now one of those major chunks of the network could be under threat. The New York Post reports that the biggest labels want to pull their official music clips because they aren’t making enough money from the video portal.
The Post isn’t the most reliable of publications but it’s not the first time we’ve heard that there’s friction between YouTube and the people who provide the content it relies on.
Free to listen
The music labels would rather you didn’t get any music for free (Apple Music doesn’t have a free tier and Spotify is said to be under pressure to remove the one it has). The likes of Spotify and Google insist free access is the best way to get people to pay money later on.
In the midst of all this is YouTube Music Key, the subscription service linked to Google Play Music that removes ads on music videos in return for a monthly payment. It’s obviously not enough for the labels.
No music on YouTube wouldn’t be advantageous for either YouTube or the music industry, so let’s hope they reach a solution soon. In the meantime, if your favourite tune of the summer suddenly vanishes, you know why.
- Stop what you’re doing and watch our all-time favourite YouTube videos
