17/08/2017: UK Music chief executive Michael Dugher has responded to the claim from YouTube’s head of music, Lyor Cohen, that “safe harbours are a distraction”.

In a blog, Lyor Cohen wrote: “Safe harbour has become an obsession — with many complaining it’s the cause of all of industry’s woes. I’m not parroting the company line when I say the focus on copyright safe harbours is a distraction. Safe harbour helps open platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Soundcloud and Instagram give a voice to millions of artists around the world, making the industry more competitive and vibrant”.

Michael responded on Twitter, saying: “It's not a distraction – it's fundamentally important. The people who create the music and invest in it should be fairly rewarded. End of.”

Michael’s comments were reported by Music Week here:
https://www.musicweek.com/digital/read/nowhere-near-riaa-responds-to-lyor-cohen-s-claim-on-youtube-streaming-rate/069516

To read reaction from other UK Music members, please click on the following links:

BASCA
http://musically.com/2017/08/20/basca-issue-response-lyor-cohen-youtube-blog
BPI
http://www.bpi.co.uk/home/bpis-geoff-taylor-responds-to-lyor-cohens-blog-five-observations-from-my-time-at-youtube.aspx