YouTube 11 - RAIN News

Grammy-winning musician and congressional witness calls YouTube a criminal racketeer

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Brad Hill

Increasingly vocal critics of YouTube have a heroic new champion, not new to the cause, but willing to dramatically escalate its rhetoric. Five-time Grammy-winner Maria Schneider, who has testified before Congress on “safe harbor” issues that affect musicians, released two blazingly critical documents. Together they comprise the harshest and most articulate indictment of an anti-YouTube stance taken by an increasing number of music rights-holders. Continue Reading →

Kobalt’s AMRA posts 28% increase in Spotify, YouTube earnings

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Anna Washenko

The American Music Rights Association (AMRA), owned by music publisher Kobalt, which claims to be the largest independent music publisher in the world, reported increased earnings from both YouTube and Spotify in Q3 2015. During its first three months of administering Kobalt’s catalog in Europe, AMRA saw a 26% increase in Spotify earnings and a 34% increase in YouTube earnings for the publishing client. Continue Reading →

Azoff rips YouTube: A ‘take down’ should be a ‘stay down’

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Anna Washenko

The music industry critiques against YouTube have been joined by another influential voice. Irving Azoff, an artist manager and CEO/Chairman of Azoff MSG Entertainment, penned an open letter to the video platform with responses to YouTube’s recent blog post that aimed to address the current wave of artist and label concerns. Continue Reading →

YouTube emphasizes music as it releases TV-crushing metrics

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Anna Washenko

“Today, I’m happy to announce that on mobile alone YouTube now reaches more 18–49-year-olds than any network — broadcast or cable. In fact, we reach more 18–49-year-olds during primetime than the top 10 TV shows combined.”
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki made this announcement at an industry event targeting advertisers and agencies. Continue Reading →

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YouTube publishes defense against music industry critiques

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Anna Washenko

For the past several weeks, artists and labels have been making pointed statements about YouTube and the video platform’s financial obligations to the music industry. On Thursday, YouTube took a public stance against the charges, with a blog post penned by Christophe Muller, head of YouTube international music partnerships. Continue Reading →

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YouTube debuts ‘snackable’ six-second ad format

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Anna Washenko

This week, YouTube announced the introduction of a new ad format for its videos. Bumper ads are a six-second format intended to accompany mobile viewing. These are meant to be a more “snackable” approach to advertising on the platform and they cannot be skipped. Continue Reading →

More artists join the fight to end YouTube safe harbors

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Anna Washenko

Two more musicians are joining the calls for a change to YouTube’s payment systems. The New York Post reported that Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry and Mötley Crüe cofounder Nikki Sixx are getting involved in pushes to change safe harbor rules. Continue Reading →

Alphabet posts Q1 results below predictions, but “YouTube still has incredible momentum”

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Anna Washenko

Alphabet, the parent company for Google, reported its first-quarter financial results. CFO Ruth Porat said that “costs associated with operating our data centers including depreciation, (and) content acquisition costs, primarily for YouTube” were behind the higher spending during the period. Continue Reading →

YouTube launches talent development program for future exclusives

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Anna Washenko

YouTube has unveiled a new talent development initiative called Foundry. This project will act as a springboard for upcoming artists, granting them access to production facilities and support as they make content for the service. The project could also be seen as a path toward bolstering YouTube’s cache of exclusive content. Continue Reading →

Europe’s digital chief joins the YouTube debate

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Anna Washenko

Another voice joined the debate over YouTube, this time from the EU government. Andrus Ansip, former prime minister of Estonia and current vice president for the digital single market on the European Commission, said YouTube’s lower payments made to the music industry give it an unfair advantage over services that focus on subscriptions. Continue Reading →

The industry’s battle against YouTube gathers steam

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Anna Washenko

With the recent wave of music industry organizations worldwide releasing their data for 2015, two distinct trends have emerged. One of them is a growing dissatisfaction with the flow of money through ad-supported streaming services. Some reports just imply frustration, while others have centered on YouTube as the symbolic scapegoat for their anger about the amount of revenue generated by that type of media platform. Continue Reading →

YouTube adds performance rights to Downtown Music Publishing deal

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Anna Washenko

After some early rumblings of label licensing drama for YouTube, the video platform has successfully inked a deal with at least one publisher. The company has expanded its licensing agreement with Downtown Music Publishing to include performance rights for streaming its tracks in the U.S. Continue Reading →