The music industry and its on-going war with YouTube

YouTube has more than 1 billion users. It’s the most popular source for music streaming on the internet. It should be good for artists, right? According to YouTube, yes, but artists are saying otherwise.

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Last year, Deadmau6 found a YouTube channel with 400 unauthorized videos containing his songs, album tracks, remixes and live shows. He contacted his lawyer to have it shutdown. The lawyer had to spend 6 hours sitting in his office to send 400 takedowns. After that, the channel shutdown but two days later it popped up again.

Taylor Swift, McCartney, Beck, Kings of Leon and others recently signed a letter to congress calling them for reform on the law that allows YouTube to host millions of unauthorized videos. The artists spend tons of time, money, talents, and effort to produce music. Thousands of others make profit off their hard work.

Album sales have fallen about 60 percent in the past decade, while YouTube has become increasingly important with 98 percent of American internet users from ages 18 to 24 visit the site.

Artists get income off of YouTube from advertisements that “leech” on their videos. But anyone with a slightly above average knowledge in internet usage can create a channel and upload, and make money on, other artists’ videos.

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Mike Eckhardt here. I love music and aspire to be a reporter in the industry someday. Visit my blog to know more.