YouTube Remains Defiant As PRS Unveils Enticing New Pricing Plan

YouTube are still locked in talks with the PRS over their decision to ban access to music videos in the UK, despite the music collection society's decision to cut rates on streamed music.

The video-sharing website began making thousands of videos unavailable to users in March after the PRS proposed plans to raise licensing fees.

However, the music collection society today announced a surprise 0.22p rate cut, which means from July firms will have to pay 0.085p per track.

The company said the new pricing scheme would allow the digital market to expand.

But in a statement, YouTube said that, although they welcomed the move, they were not in a position to comment further because “we're still in discussions with the PRS to agree license terms for YouTube”.

Despite their defiance, the PRS's enticing new pricing plan has received a mostly positive welcome today.

A number of companies, including the video-sharing website, had previously expressed anger at the PRS's initial calls to raise licensing fees.

The charges, which are mandatory to websites who want to stream music online, cover artist royalties and have been part of legislation since 1988.

YouTube's decision means many videos from artists signed to the four major record labels - EMI, Universal, Warner Music and Sony BMG – and some independent labels are not available on the website.