In an unprecedented move by the media giant, all music generated by Danish artists has temporarily been removed from YouTube while the Nordic collecting societies renegotiate their individual royalties deals into one all encompassing Scandinavian agreement with the platform.

Google’s big move comes after the tech giant revealed plans for the Nordic countries to agree on a reduction in payments by 70%, a move the Norwegian, Finnish and Danish agencies are finding tough to swallow. At loggerheads, this move clearly shows Google flexing its muscle to secure the deal they want. Gorm Arildsen, CEO of Danish collections society Koda is very clear in his animosity at the powerplay:

“It is no secret that our members have been very dissatisfied with the level of payment received for the use of their music on YouTube for many years now. And it’s no secret that we at Koda have actively advocated putting an end to the tech giants’ free-ride approach and underpayment for artistic content in connection with the EU’s new Copyright Directive. The fact that Google now demands that the payments due from them should be reduced by almost 70% in connection with a temporary contract extension seems quite bizarre.”

This is echoed in an official Koda press statement by Media Director Kaare Struve, who said: “Google have always taken an ‘our way or the highway’ approach, but even for Google, this is a low point. Of course, Google know that they can create enormous frustration among our members by denying them access to YouTube – and among the many Danes who use YouTube every day. We can only suppose that by doing so, YouTube hope to be able to push through an agreement, one where they alone dictate all terms.“

More on this developing story as if unfolds…