Pharrell Williams and dozens of other music superstars, including the Eagles, Smokey Robinson and Chris Cornell, aren't happy with YouTube sharing their music.
Music manager Irving Azoff is threatening to sue YouTube for $1 billion unless it removes around 20,000 videos off of its site due to lack of performance rights, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Azoff, who represents more than 40 artists, including the late John Lennon via his Global Music Rights, said the video-sharing website does not have the proper license to carry the videos on its site. Global Music Rights is "an alternative to current performance licensing models," and prides its company for its advocacy.
Azoff took to Twitter to criticize YouTube, writing, "YouTube knows it lacks any license from GMR and refuses to prove the basis for any other rights to perform GMR writers' songs."
"YouTube's knowledge and direct financial involvement makes them serial and willful copyright infringers. YouTube's knowledge and direct financial involvement makes them serial and willful copyright infringers."
YouTube, which is owned by Google, recently announced that it will be competing with music-streaming sites, Pandora and Spotify, with plans to launch a subscription music service called Music Key.
"[YouTube] is the least cooperative and the company our clients feel are the worst offenders," Azoff told The Hollywood Reporter. "It's also their attitude. The way fans listen to music is evolving daily. The trampling of writers' rights in the digital marketplace without any regard to their contribution to the creative process will no longer be tolerated."
Google's lawyer David Kramer called Global Music Rights' legal position "misguided."
