TheBrit and TheYank

So, after the hassles that YouTube have had with PRS Music in the UK, what comes along to make the music industry appear even more bewildering? Why, it’s a new music and video entertainment service from Universal Music and YouTube, with both parties sharing advertising revenue.

Apparently these two are going to join forces to form something called Vevo, which like all such dead-end ventures will launch “later this year.” Vevo is the only place where Universal (and possibly other record companies) will showcase their official videos.

Woah. How did that strategy get past the notepad-in-the-bedroom stage? Universal is relying on significant numbers of YouTube users to actively visit another site in order to watch their videos and hoping that everyone else looking online for them will end up at Vevo.

Hands up anyone who visits official major label websites? Yup. Exactly. This exclusivity could wreck major artists’ careers given that increasing numbers of people are watching videos online rather than on television. As I’ve said before, videos are promotional devices - the idea is to have them everywhere and easily accessible. Once again, Universal is trying to grab revenue where ever they can find it as compensation for their long term incompetence.

In August 2006, I wrote a piece on my personal blog referring to the demise of one of the UK music video channels VH2, that ended with the question “Who needs MTV?”

Somewhat belatedly, we now have an answer. According to a survey carried out by Ipsos MediaCT (catchy name folks) more 15-24 year olds in the UK watch music videos on YouTube than on TV. Other results point to 69% of those still in education watching YouTube music channels, but that older people still watch more via television.

So at a time when people are directing more of their attention to online video, YouTube removed premium music videos from UK viewers, because they couldn’t reach agreement over licensing fees with the PRS for Music. The PRS were demanding rises in fees “many, many factors” higher than the previous agreement. Yet the Music Publishers Association joined them in petitioning Google (which owns YouTube) to reconsider because “Music publishers are in the business of getting their music heard by as wide an audience as possible.”

The unwritten caveat to that sentence should be “So long as we get plenty of dosh for it because there’s all this nasty piracy going on and no-one is buying recorded music anyway.”

They fail so obviously to appreciate and realise that back when MTV launched in 1981, video was a promotional device. It still is, but it’s probably even more valuable today - we have the interwebs! Reducing the exposure of artists through monetary greed hurts everyone and makes the music industry even more wobbly.

In honour of this insanity here’s an unofficial video of a favourite song of mine from The Brooke (A Tiny Ocean):

The Brooke (A Tiny Ocean) - official website
The Brooke (A Tiny Ocean) - YouTube Channel