YouTube blocks music videos in Germany

YouTube is supposed to pay Gema a flat fee for every time a music video is accessed. Google's video portal now fears losses and is blocking music clips for German users. According to YouTube, Gema charges twelve cents for each viewing of a music video for which a music publisher, lyricist or composer represented by the company holds the rights. As Spiegel-Online reports, this is not acceptable for YouTube. On Tuesday evening, the first step was to block all music videos posted by the labels themselves and all copies posted by users. Blocking all such content is expected to take several days.

Gema, on the other hand, disputes the 12-cent demand to YouTube. As spokeswoman Bettina Müller explained to Spiegel Online, the video portal was offered 1 cent per stream. The negotiations failed due to YouTube's refusal to meet a demand for more transparency regarding the music repertoire used.