Steve Wall from The Stunning has criticised YouTube for a change in their terms and conditions, which he says will deprive a lot of acts of the revenue they currently derive from the site.
“YouTube have just announced they won't pay any money to artists who have received less than 4,000 hours of total watch time within the past twelve months,” he states. “Artists will also require at least 1,000 subscribers in order to receive the paltry few cents they pay out, so that's the most of us out of that payment stream. I've removed all ads from The Stunning's videos on our channel... might as well give the viewer a better experience. If you have videos on YouTube maybe consider doing the same. They're not going to pay you anyway unless you're reaching the goals. If you are, fair play to you!”
YouTube and other streaming sites have also been criticised by the Chairperson of the Irish Music Rights Organisation, Eleanor McEvoy, who before Christmas told Hot Press: "One of the reasons so few musicians are making a proper living from their work is that the tech companies are taking the money. They’re using your content to draw people in and mining all these people for their data so they can target them later on for advertising. They’re getting the most fantastic buildings and 24-hour chefs while you guys are suffering. The wealth has been transferred from one group of people to the other. YouTube and Google are great as promotional tools, but you should be paid properly for it too. People look at Apple and say, “Jesus, they employ loads of people!” The government bends over backwards for them because, great, jobs! Apple, LinkedIn, Facebook and Google combined don’t employ as many people here as the Irish music industry does. We bring €700 million into the economy, but the government doesn’t consider us to be a proper industry. Who’s the Minister with responsibility for it? There isn’t one. We’re calling for a cross-industry group that can talk to the government as one. Musicians are not great at fighting for themselves; we’re very fragmented. I look at the film industry and I’m so impressed how they’ve lobbied the government. I'm fucking angry that artists aren't getting the financial rewards they deserve."