YouTube music videos will be blocked to British users from this week.

Google-owned YouTube announced on Monday (9 February) that it will block all music videos to British users after failing to reach a deal with Performing Rights Management (PRS).

In the UK, PRS acts as a collecting society on behalf of member publishers for licensing fees relating to the use of music. YouTube pays a licence to the PRS which covers the streaming of music videos from three of the four major music labels and many independent labels.

In a blog entry, Patrick Walker, Director of Video Partnerships for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “Our previous licence from PRS for Music has expired, and we’ve been unable so far to come to an agreement to renew it on terms that are economically sustainable for us.

“…PRS is now asking us to pay many, many times more for our licence than before. The costs are simply prohibitive for us – under PRS’s proposed terms we would lose significant amounts of money with every playback.

“In addition, PRS is unwilling to tell us what songs are included in the license they can provide so that we can identify those works on YouTube – that’s like asking a consumer to buy an unmarked CD without knowing what musicians are on it.”

However, PRS disputed YouTube’s version of events and said it was caught by surprise by the announcement in the middle of ongoing negotiations.

“We were shocked and disappointed to receive a call late this afternoon informing us of Google’s drastic action,” said PRS for Music Chief Executive Steve Porter.

"Google has told us they are taking this step because they wish to pay significantly less than at present to the writers of the music on which their service relies, despite the massive increase in YouTube viewing.

“This action has been taken without any consultation with PRS for Music and in the middle of negotiations between the two parties.”

The commercial relationship between YouTube and PRS is separate from YouTube’s relationship with major record companies – however, even these have been strained in the past.

Videos will begin to be blocked from 1800 GMT on Monday with the majority of them made inaccessible over the next two days.