Youtube doesn’t pay content creators enough: Jon Taplin #AusContentConvo

Youtube is the world’s biggest music streaming platform, but they don’t pay content creators enough, according to Professor Jonathan Taplin, speaking at today’s ACMA Content Conversation.

Youtube hosts 85 million songs, according to the Annenberg University professor from America, who says that more than 50% of the world’s music streaming content is consumed via Youtube. However, he says Youtube pays only a fraction of the money to artists that other services do.

“Why can’t those making billions of dollars share more with the content creators,” he asked, also making the point that it is difficult for artists to get Youtube to “take down” content and make it “stay down” off the platform.

Youtube however challenges Taplin’s assertion, saying that the company, which is owned by Google, does pay musicians in a fair manner.

Michael Cooley told radioinfo at the ACMA conference: “The majority of the advertising dollars we earn on Yutube go to the artist or the owners of the content… it’s not true to suggest that Youtube is unfairly profiting from other people’s intellectual property…

“In the last year Google has paid more than a billion dollars to the recording industry… Our content ID system checks the content against the digitla fingerprint of our database…

“Content owners have a few options, they can block it, they could let it go onto Youtube and track it, or they can leave it up and monetise it,” said Cooley.

We interviewed both for more details of their viewpoints.

 

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