YouTube is no longer the piracy-ridden stain on society it once was, with Google having cleaned up the site until it’s as clean and innocent as a newborn baby. Which has led to old foes becoming new friends.
NMPA Boards YouTube Gravy Train
Unfortunately we’re not talking about Viacom here, which is continuing the fight against a YouTube which no longer effectively no longer exists. This despite the media giant having lost its case this time last year.
Instead, the foe which has become a friend is the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) and its subsidiary Harry Fox Agency (HFA). These companies, along with a host of other small music publishers, joined a class action lawsuit against Google which claimed that youTube encouraged the uploading of copyrighted content.
The NMPA, which represents hundreds of songwriters, has now backed down after four long years of litigation, and according to the YouTube Blog has signed a deal with Google which suits both parties.
Full details of the settlement haven’t been disclosed but when a clip is found to contain music owned by the NMPA (using YouTube’s Content ID system), rather than being taken offline the relevant parties will be offered the chance to run ads alongside the video and earn royalties every time it is viewed.
The Bigger Picture
The bigger picture here is that YouTube is no longer the site it was back in 2007 when these complaints were originally made. Piracy was rife on the site at that time, whether encouraged or not, but it no longer is. And the world needs to move on.
The NMPA coming on board means that it’s really only Viacom holding out now, and I wonder how long until that company also decides it’s fighting a losing battle and that it would actually be better off joining the party rather than sitting on the sidelines bitching and moaning.
Conclusions
There is only conclusion to draw from this, which is that everyone wins. Seriously. The musicians and music publishers gain a new revenue stream, YouTube gets to keep established clips on the site, and users get to use music on videos they make.
I’m sure there will be some naysayers – cough Viacom cough – but most of us realize YouTube has grown up and evolved to become a place where piracy is no longer tolerated. If everyone works together then there is money to be made from advertising.
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