NDM

YouTube reveals $1bn music payouts, but some labels still unhappy

A recent piece of research by VideoInk and video analytics firm Tubular Labs claimed that music videos account for 38.4% of all views on YouTube, reinforcing the Google subsidiary’s position as the world’s biggest streaming music service.

“We’ve paid out to the music industry over the last several years over a billion dollars,” said vice president of YouTube content Tom Pickett during a panel session at the Midem music industry show in Cannes this week, during which he also stressed that “we are all-in on music”.

Not everyone is convinced. A key theme of this year’s Midem has been continued resentment towards YouTube and its parent company from musicians, independent labels and industry bodies alike. Pickett was heckled during his panel session, and the conference also saw regular anti-Google outbursts from speakers.

NDM

Video games, Down's syndrome and my brother – a personal story

In 2005, when my brother Euan was still a schoolboy, we used to play a lot of Tekken 5 together. If you’re new to this famed video game series, it’s a one-on-one martial arts simulation - a ferocious yet endearingly flamboyant experience in which kangaroos trade blows with Bruce Lee clones, and winged demons grapple with Mexican wrestlers. And I’m fairly sure Euan is the most savage, unprincipled Tekken 5 player ever to lay his traitorous fingers upon a PlayStation 2 controller. Some combatants prefer to open a bout with a stunning punch to the lower body, but Euan was rarely that noble. “Wait a minute, I want to show you something,” he'd declare, scuttling out of reach. I'd dutifully wander over to his side of the arena, all patronising solicitude, and he'd kick me in the face.

Euan is a dirty fighter. But he's also one of the most fearlessly imaginative people you'll meet. And in its own small way, our shared gaming hobby is proof of this.