84 European Music & Media Organizations Declare Their Support for Article 13

The European music industry is now rallying for the passage of Article 13 and the EU’s broader Copyright Directive. But Article 13 has just as many opponents — including heavily-funded tech giants like Google.

Just last week, the European Union’s Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) voted in favor of the Copyright Directive. That includes the controversial Article 13, which would force companies like YouTube to install active filters on all uploaded content — or face serious penalties.

The broader European Parliament will now vote on the measure in a plenary vote. That is likely to happen in a few months, if not early 2019.

We’ve tried to forecast exactly what Article 13 would mean for YouTube, the largest streaming music destination on the planet. But regardless of the actual numbers involved, the results could be dramatic. Instead of YouTube’s age-old game of allowing uploads en masse, then forcing content owners to deal with it, the burden of proof suddenly shifts.

And with it, so do the legal ramifications. If the Copyright Directive and Article 13 passes, YouTube could face billions in copyright damages if its filters aren’t properly monitoring content uploads. Suddenly, YouTube’s premium music launch has a whole new context.

The ‘value gap,’ which refers to the massive price discount that YouTube enjoys on content, would probably vanish overnight. And theoretically, that would dramatically shift the tables in the music industry, with YouTube forced to pay demanded prices. All great news for mega-streamers like Spotify and Apple Music, who have been paying full fare since their respective beginnings (and complaining about YouTube’s free ride).

It’s interesting to note that YouTube frequently responds that there isn’t a value gap. Instead, everything is properly monetized via Content ID, with billions flowing back to content owners. Critics, including major content owners, have been crying foul on that counter-argument for years.

Now, a total of 84 music organizations and companies have banded together to put pressure on European Parliament.

The group has been rallied by Impala, a longtime activist organization for independent music companies in Europe. Here’s the opening salvo that Impala is sending European legislators.

“We represent 4.5% of EU GDP and 12 million European jobs. We are the heart and soul of Europe’s plurality and rich identities. On July 5 we ask for you to back the mandate adopted by JURI on 20 June which is the result of long and intense negotiations. There is a cynical campaign from tech companies flooding the inboxes of MEPs with scaremongering that the copyright directive would be the end of the internet. Please note that this is the 20th anniversary of their first claim that copyright provisions would break the internet. This has never happened.”