The content from these labels might also be taken down from the free YouTube

Jun 18, 2014 07:29 GMT  ·  By

YouTube has confirmed that it is indeed working on a subscription service, and that’s not necessarily good news for everyone. In fact, if your favorite band has a signed deal with an indie label, you’re probably going to hate the new service.

That’s because, as YouTube prepares to launch the subscription service, it has been negotiating deals with music labels. Some have agreed with the terms, but some haven’t, wanting more money for the artists they represent.

YouTube hasn’t managed to reach an agreement with some of the leading independent labels, including those representing artists like Adele, Artic Monkeys, Radiohead and more.

The problem is that YouTube and these labels can’t seem to agree on royalty terms that the subscription service has, on top of those it already has for the regular site. The result will be disappointing for many people out there, since YouTube execs argue that they cannot offer music on the free service without it being available on the paid service since this would be disappointing for its subscribers. This translates into a lot of content being pulled down from YouTube.

“We’re adding subscription-based features for music on YouTube to bring our music partners new revenue streams in addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars YouTube already generates for them each year,” a YouTube spokesperson said.

The service is currently being tested out internally and a release date hasn’t been revealed yet, although it is believed that it will happen sometime in the next few months. The troubles with the indie labels are unlikely to put a dent in the company’s plans as YouTube is taking an authoritarian approach to this, telling them that if they don’t like it, they don’t need to be a part of it.

Furthermore, it looks like YouTube has already lured in about 95 percent of the labels it has been working with for years, so a few rebels won’t change its plans too much.

Overall, the music industry is quite excited to have a player the size of YouTube entering the subscription-based service market. With the likes of Rdio, Spotify, Rhapsody and Beats out there, the market may seem full already, but a giant like YouTube always has room to wiggle in and has high chances of putting the others to shame.

The service will allow people to listen to music without any ads, and they’ll also be able to listen to an artist’s entire album, something that’s possible on several competing services. Offline playback is also an option for subscribers, rumor has it.