Link to the article: Channel 4 News

Last Modified: 09 Apr 2009
Source: ITN

Legendary record producer Pete Waterman has accused internet giant Google of "exploiting" him.

Waterman, 62, said the Rick Astley classic Never Gonna Give You Up, which he co-wrote and which was the subject of a YouTube craze last year, had earned him just £11 from Google, despite being viewed 154 million times.

At a press conference to mark the launch of the fairplayforcreators.com website campaigning for a fairer deal for songwriters whose work is featured on YouTube - which is owned by Google - Waterman said local radio was more profitable for him than the internet.

"There was I sitting at Christmas thinking, 'I must have made a few bob this year with the old Rickrolling'," said Waterman, who is worth a reported £47 million.

"I rang my publisher and they said 'You'll be all right', until I saw the royalty statement. £11.

"If 154 million plays means £11 I get more from Radio Stoke playing Never Gonna Give You Up than I do from YouTube."

The Rickrolling phenomenon involved internet users sending each other web links that appeared to be relevant to something they were discussing, but were in fact disguised links to the Astley song on YouTube.

The PRS For Music organisation wants Google and YouTube to pay higher royalties to songwriters for use of their work online.

A YouTube spokesman said: "We absolutely believe that artists and songwriters should make money from the use of their material.

"We previously had a licence with the PRS to enable this to happen and we are very committed to reaching terms so that we can renew our licence.

"The more music videos YouTube streams, and the more popular those music videos are, the more money YouTube will generate to share with the PRS and its songwriters.

"It's a win-win arrangement. But YouTube cannot be expected to engage in a business in which it loses money every time a music video is played - that is simply not a sustainable business model."

© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.