Musicians Jack White and Beck are the latest artists to sign a petition against Youtube.

Jack White and Beck join the likes of Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, U2, Guns N’ Roses, Ryan Adams and many many more who have all signed the petition. The petition in question is aiming to stop Youtube from allowing anyone to upload and host musicc; in short to stop fans sharing their music from accounts that aren’t ‘official’. The argument is that as Youtube allows anyone to share and upload material then the already hugely rich musicians are missing out on even more money. There is logic in it as ultimately the music is the musicians artistic property therefore any potential gains from sharing it should go to the artist; however as said the vast majority of these musicians are hugely successful and rich so what’s the harm in a fan sharing their music?

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is the law that musicians and record labels are looking to reform as they argue it is entirely outdated, having come into work 20 years ago before the digital music streaming explosion.

The petition makes the argument that the likes of Youtube (whilst not directly mentioned) make:

 “huge profits” by allowing people “to carry almost every recorded song in history in their pocket via a smartphone, while songwriters’ and artists’ earnings continue to diminish.”

Ultimately I doubt this petition will hugely affect Youtube as the people that are against Youtube are a minority in comparison to those who like and enjoy the service Youtube provides.