There is a specter haunting Europe – and it’s poised to cause some nightmares for video and social networking companies like YouTube and MySpace. Collective licensing organizations throughout the continent have been demanding compliance in recent months, seeking their share of the potential billions generated by online video. At the forefront of this movement is GEMA1 – a German organization that now now has its sights on YouTube and MySpace.
YouTube executives told the Wall Street Journal a few months ago that they find clearing rights for U.S. music videos complex and frustrating2. This year they might wake up to realize their biggest nightmare might just be the European market.
GEMA is one of the strongest collective licensing organizations in Europe. It represents the performance and mechanical licensing rights of 60,000 German authors, composers and publishers virtually without any competition. It’s as if ASCAP3, BMI4, Sesac5 and the Harry Fox Agency6 joined forces to become one big, monopolistic mega-association.
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