Small Record Labels Ask Regulators to Intervene in YouTube Dispute

Independent music groups, angry with YouTube’s demands over licensing terms, have asked government regulators in Europe and the United States to intervene on their behalf.

Trade groups representing thousands of independent record labels and musicians said that they had appealed to the European Commission for “formal regulatory action.” They accuse YouTube, a division of Google, of offering unfair contracts for a planned subscription music service, and of threatening to block the labels’ content if they do not sign.

“YouTube are shooting themselves in the foot with their attempt to strong-arm independent labels into signing up to such low rates,” the singer-songwriter Billy Bragg said. “They’re in danger of launching a streaming service that lacks the innovative and cutting-edge sounds that independent artists bring.”