Peter Mensch, co-owner of management agency Q Prime who manages groups such as Metallica, Volbeat, Baroness, and a whole slew of others, has made some not-so-kind comments about Youtube to BBC.
"YouTube, they're the devil," he told a BBC Radio 4 documentary on the music business. "We don't get paid at all."
He said the site's business model, in which artists make money by placing ads around their music, was unsustainable.
"If someone doesn't do something about YouTube, we're screwed," he said. "It's over. Someone turn off the lights."
On the contrary to Mensch's comments, YouTube Chief Business Officer Robert Kyncl says that maybe Mensch isn't looking at the situation the right way or not utilizing the site properly.
"It really depends on what is the flow of the money from us to you," he said.
"The artists who are signed up directly with YouTube are seeing great returns," he said. "Not everybody – but if you're generating a lot of viewership, you're making a lot of money."
He cited the example of hip-hop violinist Lindsey Stirling, who has 7.8 million subscribers to her YouTube channel, and made $6m from the service last year.
"Lindsey is set up directly with YouTube and she sees all of her consumption and how much money she's making and it's very clear. In other cases, maybe it's less so," said Kynci.
I'd imagine with something as easy to upload as a song, it's a lot more prevalent to have people uploading your music to their own accounts and possibly bypassing you getting income. Though in the defense of YouTube, aren't there plenty of "YouTube Stars" that are doing ridiculously well for themselves for a living?
