YouTube Responds to Trent Reznor: “Any Assertion That This Content Is Largely Unlicensed Is False”

YouTube Responds to Trent Reznor: “Any Assertion That This Content Is Largely Unlicensed Is False”

On Monday, Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor strongly criticized YouTube in an interview following the Apple Worldwide Developers’ Conference. Reznor, who is Apple Music’s Chief Creative Officer, said YouTube’s business is “very disingenuous.” He explained, “It is built on the backs of free, stolen content and that’s how they got that big. I think any free-tiered service is not fair. It’s making their numbers and getting them a big IPO and it is built on the back of my work and that of my peers. That’s how I feel about it. Strongly. We’re trying to build a platform that provides an alternative–where you can get paid and an artist can control where their [content] goes.” Now, a YouTube spokesperson has responded to Reznor in a statement to Pitchfork. It reads:

The overwhelming majority of labels and publishers have licensing agreements in place with YouTube to leave fan videos up on the platform and earn revenue from them. Today the revenue from fan uploaded content accounts for roughly 50 percent of the music industry’s YouTube revenue. Any assertion that this content is largely unlicensed is false. To date, we have paid out over $3 billion to the music industry–and that number is growing year on year.

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