One Direction is the first major act to launch a new single without an accompanying video on YouTube, Claire Atkinson points out in the New York Post. Nope, you won’t find an official “Drag Me Down” clip anywhere on the video colossus. You can, however, watch a clip of 1D’s live performance of the song on ABC’s Good Morning America, attracted 6.6 million views in a week.
“The move by 1D to sidestepYouTube is at the vanguard of a music industry movement to agitate for some big changes atGoogle’s streaming giant,” Atkinson writes. “The music industry is trying to institute a movie industry-style windowing strategy to try to make sure fans have a reason to pony up for paid streaming services. Music industry executive and artists see fans accessing fresh audio and video regularly fromYouTube and therefore slowing sales. Some argue thatYouTube is no different from theradio—but fans’ ability to choose songs makesYouTube different.
A source told Atkinson that YouTube is “not serious about monetizing music on behalf of creators and, as a result, music companies are realizing they have to reset the current relationship.”
“The strategy of putting music on YouTube first has become the prevalent release paradigm in the music industry,” Kevin Brown, Spotify’s head of European label relations, told Music Business Worldwide, which broke the story last week. “I’m pleased to say that [‘Drag’’s success] really brings that strategy into question.”
