IFPI blasts YouTube’s $1BN music industry revenue payout

Google has announced that one of its most popular streaming sites, YouTube, has paid out more than US$1 billion to the music industry from advertising alone in the last 12 months.

The announcement was made by Google via its official YouTube blog. Despite the streaming service showcasing its contributions to the music industry and the development of emerging artists, the announcement has been met with scrutiny from labels and artists alike, accusing the platform of unfairly siphoning value from the industry.

The IFPI has come forward on behalf of its member labels and criticised YouTube, claiming that while the recent financial industry contributions are significant, the total is a mere fraction of the fair price that it should pay for the content from which it generates revenue.

A statement from the IFPI said: “Google has today issued more unexplained numbers on what it claims YouTube pays the music industry. The announcement gives little reason to celebrate, however.

“With 800 million music users worldwide, YouTube is generating revenues of just over US$1 per user for the entire year. This pales in comparison to the revenue generated by other services, ranging from Apple to Deezer to Spotify. For example, in 2015 Spotify alone paid record labels some US$2 billion, equivalent to an estimated US$18 per user.”

YouTube has been at war with the industry for most of the year. Over 100 artists filed a petition with the US government to reform the Digital Millennium Copyright Law. The IFPI agrees that legislative change is in order to ensure YouTube pays due amounts to artists and the industry.

According to the IFPI, the platform currently exploits the DMCA and similar frameworks that offer the platform safe harbour when users upload infringing content, denying musical rights holders correct return for their work.

While the industry has long criticised what they see as YouTube’s laid-back stance towards piracy, YouTube argues that the DMCA protects it under these circumstances and that it always acts in compliance with copyright holders when they ask for content to be taken down.