Posted on 04/10/2009 5:58:40 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The 62-year-old said the Rick Astley classic Never Gonna Give You Up, which he co-wrote and which was the subject of a YouTube craze last year, had earned him just £11 from Google, despite being viewed 154 million times.
Waterman, whose fortune was estimated at £47 million by The Times in 2004, compared this treatment to the "exploitation" of migrant workers in the Middle East. At a press conference to mark the launch of a website campaigning for a fairer deal for songwriters whose work is featured on YouTube - which is owned by Google - Waterman said local radio was more profitable for him than the internet.
"There was I sitting at Christmas thinking, 'I must have made a few bob this year with the old Rickrolling'," he said.
"I rang my publisher and they said 'You'll be all right', until I saw the royalty statement. £11.
"If 154 million plays means £11, I get more from Radio Stoke playing Never Gonna Give You Up than I do from YouTube." The Rickrolling phenomenon involved internet users sending each other web links that appeared to be relevant to something they were discussing, but were in fact disguised links to the Astley song on YouTube. "Panorama did a documentary on the exploitation of foreign workers in Dubai," he said.
"I feel like one of those workers, because I earned less for a year's work off Google or YouTube than they did off the Bahrain government."
The PRS For Music organisation wants Google and YouTube to pay higher royalties to songwriters for use of their work online.
A YouTube spokesman said: "We absolutely believe that artists and songwriters should make money from the use of their material.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
It looks like the barackrolled youtube video has been pulled.
Why does it matter that the guy made 47 million in 2004?
He was either “exploited” or he wasn’t.
The stench of leftist agenda is everywhere these days.
If you’re wealthy you’re supposed to OK with getting ripped-off?
The 47 million was about as relevant to the story as the shoes he had on when he was helping to write the song.
Only a slimy commie would look into his pockets before judging something like this.
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