Two major labels have criticised German collecting society GEMA over its ongoing dispute with YouTube, which has resulted in the removal of music videos from Google’s video site. “I suspect that some members of GEMA’s supervisory board have not yet arrived in the digital era,” Sony Music Entertainment GSA boss Edgar Berger tells Billboard. “We want to see streaming services like Vevo and Spotify in the German market. [These platforms] must not be blocked by GEMA any longer. Artists and music companies are losing sales in the millions.” Meanwhile, Universal Music’s local boss Frank Briegmann claims that “Germany is a developing country in the digital music market. GEMA apparently has not yet understood the new developments in the international music market.” GEMA’s Alexander Wolf has hit back against the accusations, suggesting that there has been “no sudden escalation between YouTube and GEMA”. Germany is a notoriously tough market to strike digital music licensing deals in, although one streaming service – Simfy – has managed to ink an agreement with GEMA.
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