SAY IT AIN'T SO, AMATO

According to Bible insiders, Lyor “Lyr” Cohen has closed John Amato by making him think he matters, and so YouTube streams—including user-generated clips incorporating music—will now, for the first time, be factored into the determination of the Top 200 album chart.

This development has brought a resounding cry of “Bring back the Min” from label execs.

All this comes as anti-YouTube sentiment in the business hits a new peak, and Google’s video giant thumbs its nose at content providers’ complaints about the service not sharing the wealth—countering that music is less important than cat videos.

And YouTube couldn’t have picked a more controversial villain to do its bidding than Lyr.

Amato watchers have long predicted that Lyr would close him—the bible prez is notorious as a backstage wannabe who’ll attend the opening of an envelope.

It's time for the rights holders to take back the power. As discussions begin about a new chart model based on the label-driven U.K. approach, will the rights holders attempt to withhold their data? They have the leverage; will they use it now? Brits, after all, head up the three majors and the biggest indies. They know it’s possible to establish charts that reflect the actual marketplace rather than the swamp of dancing-kitty clips.