YouTube Makes $1 Billion Case That It’s Good for Music Industry

  • That’s how much ad revenue service generated in past 12 months
  • Work with new artists showcases exposure YouTube can provide
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
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YouTube, defending itself from attacks by record labels and artists, said it passed on more than $1 billion in sales to the music business in the past 12 months.

“YouTube has paid out over $1 billion to the music industry from advertising alone, demonstrating that multiple experiences and models are succeeding alongside each other,” Chief Business Officer Robert Kyncl said in a blog post Tuesday. “In the future, the music business has an opportunity to look a lot like television, where subscriptions and advertising contribute roughly equal amounts of revenue, bolstered by digital and physical sales.”