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EU: Indie record labels to combat YouTube’s ‘unfair’ deals

By  |  June 4, 2014

Independent record labels across the EU are reportedly gearing up to combat what they claim are unfair agreements forced upon them by online video streaming giant YouTube, owned by Google.

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    According to reports, EU independents association IMPALA is set to file an official complaint with the European Commission against YouTube; IMPALA will be joined by UK and US indie label representative AIM and global group WIN.

    The groups argue that YouTube is abusing its market dominance by imposing unfair terms on the labels and threatening to pull their musicians’ videos off YouTube should they not comply. YouTube is the largest music video streaming service providing exposure for artists that goes unmatched by other video streaming companies.

    According to reports, the groups argue that YouTube did not offer advances to indie labels like it did to the three largest music labels in the EU. The lackluster terms of the deal were slammed as “abusive conduct” by the groups.

    According to reports, the complaint could spell even more trouble for YouTube’s owner, Google, which is currently under fire for various allegations of market dominance abuse across the EU. The Commission is set to settle an investigation into the company, but opposition against that settlement has been mounting in recent months.

    Full content: The Register

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