As Google's stand off with the music publishing community over what it should or shouldn't have to pay to feature music videos on YouTube expanded to Germany on Wednesday - as it was confirmed the web firm had failed to negotiate a new licensing deal with German songwriter collecting society GEMA - the UK's Musicians Union threw its support behind UK collecting society PRS For Music in its ongoing fallout with the video sharing website.

As much previously reported, Google pulled so called premium videos off YouTube in the UK last month after claiming PRS were being unreasonable in what they were demanding in order to agree to issue the web service with a new licence to stream songs written or published by their members. The royalty fees PRS wanted, Google argued, made the whole YouTube business model unfeasible - ie the royalties could never be covered by advertising. PRS argue it is Google who are being unreasonable, by continuing to ask songwriters and publishers to charge nominal rates for their content despite the web firm's ever increasing overall ad revenues and profits.

The stand off continues, and PRS recently launched a special website in order to state its case in its dispute with Google, and to encourage songwriters to confirm their support for their collecting society. Various music industry trade bodies have also publicly supported PRS, including cross-sector trade body UK Music and the two trade bodies that represent the collecting society's corporate and creator members respectively, the Music Publishers Association and the British Academy Of Composers And Songwriters.

This week the Musicians' Union confirmed its support for PRS. It said in a statement on Wednesday: "On Monday 9 March 2009, internet giant Google began denying UK music fans access to premium music videos on YouTube which, they say, was prompted by PRS for Music asking too much for music rights. Google say they cannot operate YouTube if they have to pay a royalty - however small - every time a video containing music is played. Google bought YouTube for $1.65bn in 2006 and made operating profits of £3bn in 2008".

The continue: "In 2007, the UK's independent Copyright Tribunal established that a minimum royalty per play was an essential requirement in the licensing of online services. Google is failing to recognise this and ascribes little value to music - in spite of a huge increase in music usage on YouTube's UK service in the past year alone. PRS for Music, the not-for-profit collective of 60,000 songwriters and composers, is asking Google to pay the going rate for music. Music creators rely on receiving royalties whenever and wherever their work is used. Royalties are vital in nurturing creative music talent. They make sure music creators are rewarded for their creativity in the same way any other person would be in their work".

On YouTube's video blockade, they continue: "Neither PRS for Music nor its 60,000 songwriter and composer members asked Google to remove any music content from YouTube. It was a unilateral decision taken mid-negotiation by Google. Many music fans in the UK are confused by Google's action and the creators of music share their concerns. It is not in anyone's best interests to block access to music. Fans are denied enjoyment, creators aren't paid and illegal music sites benefit from the resulting displacement of web traffic".

Concluding, the Union says: "www.fairplayforcreators.com is an online forum set up by PRS For Music so that creators everywhere can publicly demonstrate their concern over the way their work is treated by online businesses. Fair Play For Creators believes that fans should have access to the music they love, and that music creators should be fairly paid by the online businesses who benefit from its use. The Musician's Union is backing the Fair Play For Creators campaign. [We encourage our members to] visit the website and show your support at www.fairplayforcreators.com".

The recently formed Featured Artist Coalition has also issued a short statement supporting PRS in their Google stand off. They said: "We condemn Google's use of its near-monopoly to dictate terms to PRS For Music. We ask them to get their tanks off our lawn and to either accept the decision of the Copyright Tribunal or else negotiate a reasonable offer based on a transparent analysis of YouTube's advertising revenue income".

The two music industry bodies which have so far remained quiet on this issue are those who represent the record companies - BPI and AIM - though both are affiliated to UK Music who, as we said, have spoken in support of PRS. But those record companies with deals in place with YouTube, and in particular majors Sony, Universal and EMI, will presumably be keen for this stand off to be resolved sooner rather than later - and certainly for it not to result in a permanent removal of premium pop promo content from YouTube - given that they earn revenues from their content on the video site, but won't be able to while access to said content is blocked.

Of course there is some disagreement in record label land as to the value of YouTube revenues - Universal have indicated they are sizable, whereas Warner pulled its content saying that the revenues offered by Google were unsatisfactory. But some reckon Google's decision to pull videos from its UK and German YouTube sites while talks with PRS and GEMA are ongoing - despite the fact neither collecting society has asked them to do so - is primarily a tactic to make the major record companies who are earning from the video service put pressure on PRS and, more importantly, their sister company music publishers, to do whatever it takes to seal a deal regarding publishing royalties with the web company. Though that tactic ignores the proven ability of major record companies and major publishing companies owned by the same parent company to have very different policies on royalty issues.