September 3, 2009 8:58

Music videos return as YouTube end PRS dispute

Music videos set to reappear on UK version of site

Music videos will return to the British version of YouTube.com after a royalty deal was agreed.

The site's owners Google and PRS For Music – who collect royalties on behalf of music publishers – resolved a long-running dispute over revenues, which had seen music videos pulled off YouTube in the UK since March.

The website has now agreed to pay PRS a undisclosed lump sum, backdated to January, which will be distributed among its members until 2012.

Neither side has revealed the details of the deal.

"It is a lump sum deal which seems to work for YouTube's business model and offers recompense for our 60,000 members," a spokesperson for PRS told BBC News. "We can be friends again."

YouTube, meanwhile, explained that the videos which had been removed "will come back over the next few days".