Warner Music Group pulled all of its music videos and related content off YouTube this weekend as negotiations between the label and the video site hit a stand still. WMG was one of the first of the majors to align itself with YouTube.
“We are working actively to find a resolution with YouTube that would enable the return of our artists’ content to the site,” the label says in a statement. “Until then, we simply cannot accept terms that fail to appropriately and fairly compensate recording artists, songwriters, labels and publishers for the value they provide.”
While WMG has withdrawn their videos from YouTube, the videos are still streaming at YouTube’s biggest challengers, MySpace Music and MTV Music.
“Sometimes, if we can’t reach acceptable business terms, we must part ways with successful partners,” YouTube responds in a statement.
Despite the reports and threats to pull their catalogue from YouTube, pretty much every WMG video we looked up at YouTube is still streaming. Madonna, Van Halen, T.I., Led Zeppelin… all still there, their “official video channels” still intact.
