YouTube: More Generous Than Radio

YouTube went on the offensive on Thursday, saying it doesn’t shortchange artists but is rather a generous and nurturing force in the music community, reports The NY Post.

Critics who claim the video streamer pays performers too little have it wrong, a YouTube executive wrote in a 900-word blog post on the site’s Creator Blog.

The Google-owned operation should be compared to terrestrial radio — which pays performers zilch — and not Spotify, which pays royalties based on the number of songs streamed.

“Radio, which accounts for 25 percent of all music consumption in the US alone and generates $35 billion of ad revenue a year, pays nothing to labels and artists in countries like the US,” Christophe Muller, Head of YouTube International Music Partnerships, wrote in the blog post.

Christophe Muller

“Unlike radio, however, we pay the majority of the ad revenue that music earns to the industry,” Muller wrote.

Muller’s post, entitled, “Setting the Record Straight,” comes in response to a series of attacks on YouTube’s business practices from artists including Blondie’s Debbie Harry and former Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx and a host of music industry associations.

All voiced concern that YouTube is fleecing their members by growing its own revenue while artists receive just tiny streaming fees.

Muller doesn’t explain his tortured comparison to radio since consumers can’t select what songs are played on traditional radio as they can on YouTube.

YouTube has also countered criticism saying it has paid out some $3 billion to the music industry over the past 10 years.