YouTube is going to block Adele’s videos if her record label, XL Recordings, doesn’t sign up for YouTube’s new subscription music service.
But she’s not alone. Several other labels — representing artists like Jack White and The Arctic Monkeys — haven’t agreed to the new licensing terms, and if they don’t sign on soon, the videos will be taken down.
Head of YouTube content and business operations, Robert Kyncl, told the Financial Times that 95 percent of record labels are on board with YouTube’s new terms, but the remaining five percent are appealing to European regulators, decrying YouTube’s decision as unfair.
Business Insider reports that “a source close to YouTube told Business Insider the deal will not affect regular users that post their own songs and videos on their own channels, but it will affect musicians signed to multiple record labels in multiple countries.”
“We’re paying them fairly and consistently with the industry,” Kyncl told the Financial Times.
Because YouTube is such an important advertising platform, artists who don’t agree to the new conditions will undoubtedly suffer from lack of promotion.
“YouTube attracts more than 1bn monthly viewers, with music one of its biggest categories,” the Guardian reported.
YouTube’s new service will compete with companies like Spotify and Amazon by charging users to download videos or watch videos without ads. Adele just might have to “find someone like YouTube” and search for a new way to promote her music videos.