Taylor Swift, U2 & More Join Fight Against YouTube

Many musicians have spoken out against global video sharing site YouTube in recent months and the fight against the online giant is being taken to a new level as 180 musicians and songwriters are calling for reform of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which regulates copyright online.

According to Billboard, names such as Taylor Swift, U2, Paul McCartney, Kings Of Leon and more will sign a petition pushing for the reform, as will 19 other organisations and companies. 

Introduced in 1998, the DMCA gives services such as YouTube "safe harbor" from copyright infringement liability, pending they respond to takedown notices and the petition is calling for this to be changed. 

The petition states that the DMCA has "allowed major tech companies to grow and generate huge profits by creating ease of use for consumers to carry almost every recorded song in history in their pocket via a smartphone, while songwriters’ and artists’ earnings continue to diminish".

It asks Congress for a "sensible reform that balances the interests of creators with the interests of the companies who exploit music for their financial enrichment".

The news comes just a week after YouTube rejected comments made by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, who claims the company is "built on the backs of free, stolen content".

"Any assertion that this content is largely unlicensed is false," a YouTube spokesperson said.

"To date, we have paid out over $3 billion to the music industry – and that number is growing year on year."