YouTube Says It Will Block Musicians Who Don't Sign Up For Its New Paid Service

YouTube is getting ready to release its ad-free music streaming service, but a report from The Financial Times says the company will block videos from any independent artists who don't sign up for the new paid service.

According to the report, YouTube will block those indie artists from using all of YouTube - including both the free and paid sections of it - "to ensure that all content on the platform is governed by its new contractual terms," according to Robert Kyncl, YouTube's head of content and business operations.

According to Kyncl, record labels representing 90% of the music industry have already signed up to YouTube's new terms, while the remaining 10% will be blocked from the platform. Those same artists are asking European regulators to intervene.

"While we wish that we had 100% success rate, we understand that is not likely an achievable goal and therefore it is our responsibility to our users and the industry to launch the enhanced music experience," Kyncl told the Financial Times.

The Guardian says this move to block independent artists would also affect several big name music brands, including The Arctic Monkeys, Jack White and Adele.

A YouTube spokesperson again confirmed the report in a statement to Business Insider:

Our goal is to continue making YouTube an amazing music experience, both as a global platform for fans and artists to connect, and as a revenue source for the music industry. We're adding subscription-based features for music on YouTube with this in mind - to bring our music partners new revenue streams in addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars YouTube already generates for them each year. We are excited that hundreds of major and independent labels are already partnering with us.