British songwriters criticize YouTube
The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) releases a statement criticizing YouTube’s policies on dividing advertising revenue. They claim that artists are forced to accept a small portion of the revenue or have their songs taken off YouTube. Barry Mason, composer of Tom Jones’ Delilah, makes a statement in support of their cause:
Someone must be making money out of the music on You Tube but it certainly isn’t the people who write the songs. Delilah would need to be streamed roughly 113,250 times for [co-writer] Les Reed and I to earn enough for a coffee each at Starbucks.