This article was published on June 17, 2014

Google looks set to block indie labels from YouTube if they don’t sign up for new subscription service


Google looks set to block indie labels from YouTube if they don’t sign up for new subscription service

Google has one, Apple’s at it, Amazon’s recently made moves, and even Samsung wants in on the action. Yes, the music-streaming space is becoming incredibly crowded.

But that’s not stopping Google-owned YouTube from introducing another service to the fray, letting users pay to watch and listen to music sans ads. While details of the service itself are still scant, and it’s likely to be a staged rollout when it does come to fruition, the Financial Times reports [via the Guardian] that the online giant will block videos from labels that refuse to sign licensing deals for the paid-for service.

While it seems the majors are already signed up, as are many indies, there’s still a significant chunk that haven’t signed on the dotted line – YouTube claims to have on-boarded 90 percent of the music industry. Ultimately, this could see the likes of the Arctic Monkeys and Adele removed from the free YouTube incarnation “in a matter of days”, though it’s not expected that the new service will be launching quite that soon.

YouTube to block indie labels who don’t sign up to new music service | The Guardian

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