YouTube & Independent Labels Enter Licensing Deal

For the past year, YouTube has been developing a set of features that would preserve its free model, but also offer a more extensive access to music for paying subscribers. While the company had deals with the major record companies and music publishers, an equal, or similar arrangement with independents was put on hold earlier this year. Following a monthslong dispute, YouTube has signed a licensing deal with independent record companies. As The New York Times points out, this deal paves the way for YouTube to introduce a long-planned subscription feature to compete with online music outlets like Spotify and Rdio. While there are little to no details known about the new subscription service, experts expect high-quality audio and the ability to save videos offline, and that it might be linked with Google Play Music All Access.