On Thursday, Irving Azoff hurled allegations at YouTube, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google. He accused the platform of bullying tactics and paying creators less than companies like Spotify Inc. (NYSE:SPOT), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
Irving Azoff Calls YouTube The ‘Classic Definition Of A Monopoly’
During a conversation with Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw, Azoff, CEO of The Azoff Company and a key figure in the music industry, criticized YouTube.
“The YouTube problem is nobody stands up to them,” Azoff said. “The bullying continues.”
He added, “They will bully a network, an artist performing rights society, a publisher, a label. It’s across the board.”
Azoff, whose Global Music Rights organization has previously clashed with YouTube over royalty payments, claimed the company underpays for music content compared to other streaming platforms like Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon Music.
“Their royalty is one-fifth of the highest paying of the other ones. And they just get away with it because they’re YouTube,” he stated, adding, “It’s the classic definition of a monopoly.”
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Google did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments.
YouTube’s Expanding Power Draws Industry Scrutiny
YouTube has been battling with several other disputes.
In August, YouTube struck a distribution deal with Fox Corp. (NASDAQ:FOXA) to keep Fox Sports, Fox News and other channels on YouTube TV after tense carriage negotiations.
In February earlier this year, YouTube TV had a similar case when it came close to losing CBS, Nickelodeon and other channels from Paramount Global, now called Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ:PSKY), because of fee negotiations.
Last month, the platform also agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by former President Donald Trump over his account suspension.
Price Action: Alphabet Inc.’s Class A shares fell 1.26% on Thursday, while Class C shares dropped 1.32%, according to Benzinga Pro.
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