YouTube would be offering support to artists in exchange for silence

The platform would be asking artists to refrain from speaking negatively about it in exchange for providing better showcases for their work.

YouTube has asked musicians to agree not to discredit the streaming video service in exchange for promotional support, according to people familiar with the subject, a way to silence persistent criticism from artists.

In recent months YouTube has provided a group of musicians with a couple of hundred thousand dollars to produce videos and promoted their work on billboards, part of a larger campaign to improve the relationship of the site with the music industry.

That support, however, is a trap, since some musicians have been required to promise not to make negative statements about YouTube, said the people, who asked that their identity not is disclosed in relation to private transactions. Non-criticism agreements are common in the sector, but YouTube's biggest competitors do not demand them, the sources added.

The YouTube agreements go beyond demanding not to criticize the video site, said one of the people without going into detail. YouTube requires that many partners accept these conditions, including creators who produce original series for their paid service, the person added.

YouTube has taken additional precautions in recent agreements due to an incident with director Morgan Spurlock. The director caught YouTube off guard when he admitted in December he had committed sexual abuse and harassment just three months after the company acquired the rights to broadcast his latest film, a sequel to the Oscar-nominated documentary "Super Size Me."

YouTube has more reasons than many companies to worry about public statements by artists. Composers and artists have criticized the site for what they consider a meager income distribution and poor protection against piracy. Dozens of musicians signed a petition in 2016 in which they criticized free music services and asked Congress to hold YouTube more responsible for preventing copyright violations.

Outraged

Top YouTube executives were outraged at the letter and privately insisted that artists and representatives support the company. Musicians such as Paul McCartney and Taylor Swift only signed the letter at the request of record labels seeking better terms in the negotiations, people familiar with the matter said at the time. The company has also countered the criticism by saying that it has paid more than $ 1 billion to the music industry and has reinforced surveillance to prevent copyright violations.

Artists like rapper G-Eazy and reggaeton singer Ozuna from Puerto Rico have worked with YouTube to promote their music, which has included their appearance on billboards, videos "behind the scenes" and documentaries. Perry participated in a YouTube event last year and made a publicized video with the company.

In December 2016, Google's video site hired recording executive Lyor Cohen to improve its relationship with the music industry. Cohen was a controversial choice, but YouTube managed to put things back together enough to sign long-term agreements with the three largest music companies in the world in recent months.

The agreements give YouTube the rights it needs for a paid music service that it plans to launch later in the year. The company expects the new offer to silence record label protests about its payments to the sector. If the service fails to attract subscribers, it is unlikely that these stamps will remain silent, whether or not their artists speak.