After failing to reach a new licensing agreement with the Performing Rights Society, YouTube has decided to stand by its decision to block and remove all premium music videos to UK users. On Monday March 9, thousands of videos were made unavailable to UK YouTube users.

YouTube's director of video partnerships, Patrick Walker, said that the company remains committed to reaching some kind of agreement, but that such agreement needed to be done "at a rate which is sustainable to all."

Walker said that the move was "regrettable", but that YouTube was continuing to talk to the PRS. He said:

"The more music videos YouTube streams, and the more popular those music videos are, the more money YouTube will generate to share with the PRS and its song writers. It's a win-win arrangement.

YouTube, however, cannot be expected to engage in a business in which it loses money every time a music video is played - that is simply not a sustainable business model."

Steve Porter, head of the PRS, said that he was "outraged.... shocked and disappointed" by YouTube's decision. In a statement, he said that this move "punishes British consumers and the songwriters whose interests we protect and represent." He is asking YouTube to reconsider as a "matter of urgency."

The Music Publishers Association has joined the PRS is requesting that Google rethink its decision. MPA chief executive Stephen Navin said:

"Music publishers are in the business of getting their music heard by as wide an audience as possible, and websites such as YouTube rely on this music to attract traffic. It is difficult to see how anyone's interests are served by denying the YouTube community the content they most enjoy."

YouTube pays a license to the PRS, which covers streaming music videos from three of the four major music labels as well as many independent labels. The majority of videos will be made inaccessible over the next few days.

Considering that Google has said that they haven't quite figured out how to properly monetize YouTube, it's no wonder that they wouldn't want to agree to an increase in licensing fees for these videos.