Buma Stemra and YouTube renew licensing deal

13:46 | Tuesday December 22, 2009

Financial details of the agreement are not being made public, but the deal covers all of Buma/Stemra’s repertoire contained in any professional or user-generated video hosted on and streamed via YouTube in the Netherlands, including embedded content.

Buma/Stemra chairman Cees Vervoord says as a result of the agreement the songwriters, composers and music publishers represented by the organisation will be rewarded when their music is used on YouTube.

“It’s important that the people who create music – the writers and composers we represent - are properly rewarded when their works are used,” says Vervoord. “YouTube is a very popular video platform, and this new licence supports musical talent on the site. I’m delighted that we’ve been able to reach this agreement on behalf of songwriters, composers and the YouTube community alike – it really reinforces the value of our members’ work.”

Patrick Walker, head of YouTube partnerships in Europe, Middle East and Africa, says the move is “a big win for the YouTube community, for bloggers and for music publishers, songwriters and composers.”