YouTube said to have reached a deal with Merlin, music service to launch soon?
The feud between YouTube and Merlin, the global rights agency which represents a big chunk of the independent sector worldwide when it comes to digital rights, seems to have come to an end.
The two companies have reached an agreement - the Financial Times reports - although neither of them has officially acknowledged the deal yet.
It is important to note that Merlin’s members have a choice as to whether they’d like to opt in to the deal or not, but if the agreement comes with the organisation’s seal of approval it is likely that most labels will jump on board.
Back in June, reports of a deal between YouTube and the major labels on the launch of a music service were accompanied by complaints from the independent sector that the Google-owned video giant was using its market power to corner them into signing sub-par deal.
The deal that had been offered to the indies by YouTube leaked (mysteriously…) and IMPALA went as far as filing an official antitrust complaint with the European Commission against the video streaming service.
Merlin was amongst the organisations that were holding out for a better deal with YouTube, and the video giant desperately needed to get them on board to launch a service whose catalogue could compete with the likes of Spotify, Rdio and Deezer.
If the news is confirmed, the deal could pave the way towards the launch of the much rumoured YouTube Music service, which is already a year late. YouTube's product manager in charge of music - Chris LaRosa - left the company in July but it's impossible to say whether his departure prompted a change in YouTube's negotiating strategy with labels.
The FT reports that the service could launch within weeks, although as pointed out earlier given that each Merlin member has to opt into the deal reaching ‘critical mass’ could take some time.
YouTube is the ultimate ‘free’ service, and it’s going to be interesting to observe both how the industry will react to YouTube Music given recent complaints around Spotify’s freemium model and how consumers will react to a premium offering, given that they equate YouTube to free content.
(Andrea Leonelli)