YouTube has defended its royalty scheme for artists, claiming that it’s close to being the top revenue source in the industry.
Katie Oyama, the platform’s director of government affairs and public policy, was quizzed by MPs this week as part of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) ongoing inquiry into the economics of music streaming.
- READ MORE: Mark, My Words – from music to healthcare, the public is being asked to plug broken systems
YouTube’s written evidence [seen by MusicWeek], which says that “record labels agree it is possible we will become the music industry’s number one source of revenue by 2025”, was challenged in the hearing by British Phonographic Industry (BPI) CEO Geoff Taylor. He said it “does not reflect” his experiences.
Oyama responded by saying that in 2019 YouTube “sent $3 billion to the music industry” and suggested its royalties will eclipse Spotify‘s.
“We don’t yet have our 2020 numbers done, but it’s been growing every year,” Oyama said. “So we have no reason to think it has not grown quite significantly last year” [quotes via MusicWeek].
