March 25, 2009

By By Andre Paine, London

U.K. songwriters and composers have launched a new Web site to highlight concerns over the use of their work on the Internet.

The site, fairplayforcreators.com, went live today (March 25) and has the backing of Abba's Bjorn Ulvaeus and Robbie Williams songwriter Guy Chambers, among others.

The move is in response to the March 9 decision by Google to block access to premium music videos for U.K. users of YouTube, following a failure to agree new terms on a licensing agreement with collecting society PRS For Music.

Songwriters have launched the site to urge Google to restore music videos to YouTube and to campaign for fair payment for the use of their music in the online space, stressing the importance of royalties in nurturing creative music talent.

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