YouTube Windfall For British Musicians

British artists to receive royalties when their music is used as backing tracks on YouTube videos.

Under a new agreement between Google, which owns video site YouTube, and the MCPS-PRS, which collects royalties, British artists will now be paid when their content is used for backing tracks on videos posted tothe site.   MCPS-PRS said it has licensed 10 million pieces of music for use on YouTube. Although the agreement doesn’t address the copyright issue, it does mean performers will be paid.This mirrors a similar agreement reached in the US for American artists.   Google will foot the bill for music used by online content creators. No one is saying exactly how much is involved, butit’s almost certain to stretch into millions of dollars coming from that large Google wallet.   Chad Hurley, CEO and Co-Founder of YouTube said,    “We‘re pleased tobe working in cooperation with the MCPS-PRS Alliance to provide the YouTube community in the UK with the best possible user experience. This agreement is another great example of how we are workingwith the music industry to explore new and creative ways to compensate music creators.”