YouTube Will Cut Labels Off If They Don't Sign Up For Red

If you're a record label or an artist with a large YouTube following, you may find your videos are no longer available to view if you didn't sign up to be part of the network's new Red subscription service that will launch this week.

YouTube sent a letter to content creators a few weeks ago telling them if they didn't sign on by the October 22nd, their videos would be hidden from non-paying viewers as well as well as Red subscribers. Even if they're not hidden, they won't be available for monetization.

According to YouTube, 98% of content creators have signed on so far, but there are many holdouts, among them Disney and many indie labels.

These holdouts, like many of the creators who have signed on, claim that the 55% payout from YouTube is insufficient compared to virtually every other service (who pay at least 70%).

In fact, it's been estimated that the total monthly royalty payout from Spotify is 3 times as much as YouTube, despite having a tenth of the user base.

YouTube Red launches tomorrow, and it will be interesting to see what the reaction will be. Regardless of how the public feels, you can be that content creators will continue to be unhappy.

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