In only “a matter of days,” some of your favorite videos on YouTube could be gone, possibly for good. YouTube is preparing to radically change the site, adding a subscription service that is intended to help them compete in the streaming music industry. The Google GOOGL +0.7%-owned video site has already signed new licensing deals with all of the major labels, but many independents are refusing to take part. Apparently, not only are smaller, indie labels not being offered the same deals as the majors, but the contracts that Google is putting in front of them are less than fair. In order to show their muscle, Google has stated that any label—meaning smaller, independent ones—that does not sign a deal with them will not only be left off the new service, but will have their content taken down from the original, free YouTube. Vice President and Global Head of Business at YouTube Robert Kyncl recently claimed that they already had deals with 90% of the industry, and that they had no choice but to move forward. “While we wish that we had 100% success rate, we understand that is not likely an achievable goal and therefore it is our responsibility to our users and the industry to launch the enhanced music experience,” he stated. Rumored to be called YouTube Music Pass, the new service is intended to change the way people use YouTube and stream music, paying a premium to skip ads. In addition, people will be able to download music directly from Music Pass, not just listen. While the field is already crowded with popular programs like Spotify, Beats Music, iTunes Radio, Samsung’s Milk and recently-added Amazon Prime Music, YouTube is easily one of the most used platforms by people to consume music, and can expect initial adoption to be much higher than a new product from a firm just joining the game.
Posted on: Fri, 20 Jun 2014 02:41:21 +0000
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