YouTube and PRS for Music have reached a new licensing deal following months of dispute, meaning that thousands of music videos are due to go back online on the UK version of the popular site.
As previously reported in The Gen, a disagreement between the two parties broke out when YouTube became dissatisfied with new payment terms put forward by the PRS for Music, leading to YouTube owners Google blocking music videos from the site in March earlier this year.
Essentially, PRS for Music were attempting to increase the royalty fees it receives from YouTube.
YouTube felt that the collecting society was being unreasonable and, as a result stopped showing all music videos in the UK, leading to criticism from the PRS for Music that the website was effectively punishing music fans and artists by removing the videos.
This resulted hypothetically in a block on all premium music video content owned by record labels in the UK despite the fact that many fan videos and a limited number of official videos continued to be available on the site.
Although exact details and figures of the new agreement remain undisclosed, the website has agreed to pay a lump sum to the collecting society backdated to January that will be distributed between its members up to 2012.
Andrew Shaw, the managing director of broadcast and online at PRS for Music, said in a statement: "We hope it is the first of many deals with other services so that music can get out there in whatever way people want to listen to it, while making sure our members get paid".
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