Google is under fire from Apple as the firm’s music boss claims that YouTube is a dodgy operation.
The Chief Creative Officer for Apple Music has slammed YouTube as “disingenuous” in a new interview with Billboard. Trent Reznor, better known as Nine Inch Nails’ frontman, hit out at the Google-owned video service over copyright issues.
During the interview, Reznor said:
“Personally, I find YouTube’s business to be very disingenuous. It is built on the backs of free, stolen content and that’s how they got that big. I think any free-tiered service is not fair. It’s making their numbers and getting them a big IPO and it is built on the back of my work and that of my peers.”
Apple’s Chief Creative Officer for Apple Music, Trent Reznor
“That’s how I feel about it. Strongly.
Reznor isn’t alone in criticising Google. Back in March, YouTube clashed with music labels as the Recording Industry Assocation of America lambasted the low royalties paid to music rightsholders, describing the payments as “meager”.
Google hit back at the RIAA’s claims, responding: “To date, Google has paid out over $3 billion to the music industry – and that number is growing year on year. This revenue is generated despite the fact that YouTube goes way beyond music to include popular categories such as news, gaming, how-to, sports, and entertainment.”
Related: Best Music Streaming Service
YouTube launched on February 14, 2005, and was bought out by Google for $1.65 billion in November 2006. The service now operates as a subsidiary of Google.
Apple Music, meanwhile, launched on June 30, 2015, and now boasts 15 million subscribers globally. That’s still short of market leader Spotify’s 30 million paid members, however. In an effort to appease critics, Apple announced a significant revamp to the service during its keynote at this week’s WWDC 2016 event.
The Refresh: Catch up on the latest tech news
Do you think Reznor is right to criticise Google? Let us know in the comments.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.