YouTube's Subscription Music Service Could Block Some Artists

Image: Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Please don't stop the music.

YouTube's hotly anticipated music streaming service is on its way, and the site is making preparations to penalize record labels that haven't agreed to its terms.

Videos of independent labels that have refused to agree to deals on for a new paid subscription offering will soon find their videos blocked, according to a report from the Financial Times.

The move marks the end of an era for YouTube, which originally launched as an inclusive platform for legal user content to be viewed by all. Now, the site that helped usher in the era of streaming video will take one of its biggest steps in commoditizing its success.

The streaming video site also doubles as the most popular streaming music platform, and Google is looking to capitalize on that popularity. But not all labels are on board with the revenue split being offered.

Robert Kyncl, YouTube's global head of business, told the FT that 90% of the industry is on board, with mostly indie labels holding out. Some of those labels are home to popular European artists, including Adele and the Arctic Monkeys, as well as American artists such as Jack White.

The details of YouTube's music service that have emerged so far make it sound quite similar to services such as Spotify. Users will be able to access YouTube's considerable music library on demand on desktop and mobile devices without ads. There will also be an option for listening to selected songs offline.

YouTube did not respond to requests for comment.

The company's willingness to play hardball with indie labels follow on various other recent disputes over digital royalties in music and e-books. Amazon's new music service, which recently launched as a part of its Prime offering, has yet to come to terms with Universal Music Group. Amazon is currently in a standoff with book publisher Hachette.

FT and The Guardian reported that WIN, a music industry organization, has filed a complaint with the European Commission, alleging that YouTube is offering different terms to indie labels than it has granted to larger labels.

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