YouTube is negotiating with UMG, Sony and EMI to renew its music licences, according to a report by CNET’s industry scribe Greg Sandoval. His sources suggest that the talks are going well, and that one label may even have agreed its new deal with Google’s video site. “YouTube has supposedly agreed to increase licensing fees, and at least one of the labels is said to have secured a promise from YouTube to do more to keep people from pirating songs off the site,” claims the report. The RIAA recently criticised Google for the ease with which YouTube music videos can be ripped to MP3 files. YouTube’s revenue payouts are also likely to be subject to more interest this year, as artists and labels compare its payouts to those from streaming services like Spotify.
Tools: platforms to help you reach new audiences
Tools: Kaiber
In the year or so since its launch, AI startup Kaiber has been making waves,…