EURO INDIES ACCUSE YOUTUBE
OF BULLYING TACTICS

The European indie labels and their acts have their knickers in a twist over YouTube/Google’s alleged refusal to withdraw its threats to labels unwilling to sign up to its new music streaming service on what the Worldwide Independent Network has condemned as "highly unfavorable terms."

In a joint statement issued this morning, WIN, IMPALA and the Featured Artists Coalition bemoan the escalation of the ongoing dispute and call for a fair and equitable resolution.

"YouTube continues to approach individual independent labels directly with a non-negotiable template contract and an explicit threat that their content will be blocked on the platform if it is not signed," the statement reads. The orgs are calling for "measures to stop YouTube abusing its market power over independent music companies and artists."

In a press conference scheduled for today in London today, WIN, FAC and IMPALA will petition the European Commission for emergency assistance leading to formal regulatory action.

IMPALA will spearhead a complaint with the EC, a decision taken this weekend by the IMPALA board in Barcelona at the Primavera, music fest, where more than 90% of the acts are indie. The complaint will include a request for urgent intervention to stop YouTube carrying out any blocking measures or issuing new threats. The org will argue that regulatory action is "an essential safeguard against abusive conduct and to promote real competition and diversity in the digital music market."

The statement climaxes with a series of quotes from high-profile members of the indie community.

IMPALA Executive Chair Helen Smith: "YouTube is behaving like a dinosaur, attempting to censor what it doesn’t like. This is completely out of sync in Europe, where the EC has systematically insisted that European citizens should be able to access the cultural diversity and choice they demand. Europe has already had to take a tough line with Google on issues such as search and privacy. Prompt intervention with YouTube must be the next step."

Billy Bragg: "YouTube are shooting themselves in the foot with their attempt to strong-arm independent labels into signing up to such low rates. They're in danger of launching a streaming service that lacks the innovative and cutting-edge sounds that independent artists bring. Would music fans be willing to pay for such an inferior product? I don’t think so."

FAC Co-Chair Ed O’Brien of Radiohead: "Indie artists and labels are at the cutting edge of the future of music. To restrict them in this way is to risk creating an Internet just for the superstars and big businesses. Without the innovation and risk-taking of the indie sector, we lose a vital ingredient in pushing us all forward."

Alison Wenham, CEO of WIN and Chairman of the Association of Independent Music U.K.(AIM): "We will start this process in Europe with IMPALA referring YouTube to the EC for urgent regulatory action, which will be the first step in a global campaign. Our fellow trade associations around the world, representing tens of thousands of independent companies, also take issue with the actions of YouTube towards the most creative sector in the music industry. We must therefore do everything we can to protect the independent sector from the actions of one very powerful company, which seeks to railroad content owners, and by association their artists, into unfair and unjust contracts while threatening to block access to their platform."

Mark Chung, a board member of German indie trade association Verband unabhängiger Musikunternehmen (VUT): "If there ever was a need for further evidence of Google’s willingness and ability to abuse its market dominance, this is a particularly blatant and despicable case. Coming from a corporation whose armies of lobbyists, PR agents and paid bloggers tirelessly spin their corporate interests as supporting ‘free speech’ and opposing ‘censorship,’ the removal of legal music videos with the objective of extending the corporation’s dominance to a further young, fledging market is beyond cynical. We look to Joaquin Almunia to move to resolve this. Of course the wider Google issue will also require adequate new regulatory legislation and serious consideration of a break-up of this spying, lying and out-of-control monopoly."