Video
The contract means Dublin-based MUZU can now air videos from the four biggest music labels — Warner, Universal Music Group Inc., EMI Group Ltd. and Sony Music Entertainment — in the U.K. and Ireland. At the same time, a dispute between YouTube and a British royalty collection agency continues.
YouTube has blocked access to videos from the four labels since March after talks with the collection society, PRS For Music, collapsed over a disagreement about license fees. MUZU, which began broadcasting videos 18 months ago, has a deal with PRS For Music in place, said Ciaran Bollard, MUZUs co-founder.
“One of the first things we did was license with all collection societies from all over the world,” Bollard said in a phone interview from Dublin today. “We now have huge support from the industry.”
Under the agreement, MUZU and Warner Music U.K. will share revenue generated by advertising through the Web site, Warner and MUZU said in a joint e-mail to Bloomberg.
MUZU pays content owners half of all ad revenue generated from display ads on MUZU channels and so-called “in-video” advertisements, MUZU said. Any band or label can create their own branded music TV channel on the site.
YouTube has also blocked access to music videos on its German Web site, after talks broke down with GEMA, Germanys royalty collection society.