Negotiations on a new deal for YouTube UK to continue to show certain music videos have broken down with the Performing Rights Society, who collect license fees for public ‘performances’ of music (including radio, TV etc) and dish them out to musicians.

Interesting to compare the PRS statement and YouTube blog post on why this has happened.

PRS:

PRS for Music is outraged on behalf of consumers and songwriters that Google has chosen to close down access to music videos on YouTube in the UK.

Google has told us they are taking this step because they wish to pay significantly less than at present to the writers of the music on which their service relies, despite the massive increase in YouTube viewing.

…

Google had revenues of $5.7bn in the last quarter of 2008.

Google sorry, YouTube:

Our previous licence from PRS for Music has expired, and we’ve been unable so far to come to an agreement to renew it on terms that are economically sustainable for us.

There are two obstacles in these negotiations: prohibitive licensing fees and lack of transparency.

We value the creativity of musicians and songwriters and have worked hard with rights-holders to generate significant online revenue for them and to respect copyright. But PRS is now asking us to pay many, many times more for our licence than before.

So which is it – are PRS charging more, or Google/ YouTube trying to pay less? This is starting to look like the kind of divisive positioning which music fans – and musicians – have been suffering for so long. Each party claiming to be on the side of music lovers and casting the other as the bad guys.

Fans have become accustomed to Music Industry mistrust of New Media, and cast the PRS in the ‘Man’ role (see the comments in the YouTube post). Meanwhile like a couple of others I can’t help wondering who is really the David, and who the Goliath here.

What do you think?

Performed by Arctic Circle Ensemble with the Puffin Voices,

That Fuzzy Feeling is a gentle and knowing nod to Christmas records from the likes of Sufjan Stevens and Low, sprinkled with snow globe scenes and antlers aplenty. It’s Christmas (And I Hate You) is a Fairytale of New York for the toytronica generation; a Yuletide barney re-imagined as a brassy, offbeat carol, and one which references Greek mythology and human rights activists. Mistletoe & Wine this certainly isn’t.

The remaining four tracks range from ethereal delights to near-baroque arrangements, underpinned by gently swelling horns and slow-building harmonies, while the chiming strains of Unreasonable Dream, Christmas Night is a breezy closer, gradually escalating towards a stomping crescendo – an effect which is no doubt bolstered by performance-enhancing mulled wine and mince pies.

Have a listen on the Arctic Circle MySpace streaming page,

download from eMusic, Boomkat or iTunes,

and there’s more information at the Static Caravan label‘s page and on Facebook

Does it – or does it not – give you ‘that fuzzy feeling’?

Performed by Arctic Circle Ensemble with the Puffin Voices,

That Fuzzy Feeling is a gentle and knowing nod to Christmas records from the likes of Sufjan Stevens and Low, sprinkled with snow globe scenes and antlers aplenty. It’s Christmas (And I Hate You) is a Fairytale of New York for the toytronica generation; a Yuletide barney re-imagined as a brassy, offbeat carol, and one which references Greek mythology and human rights activists. Mistletoe & Wine this certainly isn’t.

The remaining four tracks range from ethereal delights to near-baroque arrangements, underpinned by gently swelling horns and slow-building harmonies, while the chiming strains of Unreasonable Dream, Christmas Night is a breezy closer, gradually escalating towards a stomping crescendo – an effect which is no doubt bolstered by performance-enhancing mulled wine and mince pies.

Have a listen on the Arctic Circle MySpace streaming page,

download from eMusic, Boomkat or iTunes,

and there’s more information at the Static Caravan label‘s page and on Facebook

Does it – or does it not – give you ‘that fuzzy feeling’?

I’m sitting in Spitalfields drinking coffee and getting used to writing on the iPhone’s touch interface. I’m keeping it short as there’s no copy and paste, and there’s little that’s not been written already about this particular toy, sorry, piece of high consumer technology.

Suffice to say I’m loving the cocktail of connectivity and syncronisation, ease of use and rich media experience. I like the way it has got software developers excited and brought a unity to the mobile platform which has been sadly lacking in all my previous smart phones.

It is not without its flaws – again, well documented elsewhere, but perhaps most significantly the charge that it is a closed and tethered device that could threaten creativity and/ or go towards creating a new Market monopoly. But I sincerely hope that it acts as a catalyst to other makers of mobile devices creating truly usable interface. The iPhone has moved the goalposts, now it just needs worthy opponents on the field.

On a more personal note, this is actually my first iPod and I haven’t enjoyed listening to music so much since I stopped buying vinyl. I think this is because it brings a sense of intimacy with the record back into the experience, where other players have made a music collection feel like a set of data files – still possible to enjoy as music, but despite the interface rather than because of it.

I’m pleased to say that the long awaited UK Premiere is tomorrow, on BBC Two, Friday 4th July at 23.35hrs.

As far as I’m aware I’m credited as Production Assistant, which entailed helping to get all the parties together. This year my work has started to develop – I’ve been developing my own ideas for shows, starting to pitch them to broadcasters and developing partnerships with other organisations.

And of course one of the exciting areas I’m working in is where collaboration and the culture of the web can meet and cross-fertilise with some of the qualities that long-form film and broadcast bring to the table. Qualities which I hope are evident in our film on Jay-Z.. Let me know in the comments box!

I’ll update this post when I know its URL Sorry to say, this won’t be on BBC’s iPlayer but is available on DVD if you would like to see it.

Tags: Jay-Z, Hip-Hop, Lyrics, Beats, TV, Classic Albums