Music videos return to YouTube

 

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Posted on 3 Sep 2009 at 08:46

YouTube has made "thousands of music videos" available to the UK once again, after it made peace with royalties group PRS for Music.

The videos were yanked in March, when YouTube accused PRS of making it "prohibitively expensive" to license music. The royalties groups hit back that YouTube had pulled the videos as a negotiating tactic, and claimed the two bodies hadn't even discussed the measures.

The new deal will see YouTube pay a lump sum to PRS, backdated until January, which will cover its use of music videos until 2012.

YouTube has offered a lump sum deal that offers recompense to our 60,000 members. It's fair to say we've put the matter behind us

Unfortunately, given the months of wrangling involved, the two sides have now gone strangely quiet - professing themselves happy with the deal but unwilling to divulge any further details.

"YouTube has offered a lump sum deal that offers recompense to our 60,000 members. It's fair to say we've put the matter behind us," says Andrew Shaw, PRS managing director of broadcast and online. "We're willing to deal with any service that gets music to the people who want to listen to it, while making sure our members get paid."

YouTube claimed the deal showed both sides had to remain flexible in order to avoid hurting the consumer.