YouTube to block music videos for UK users

The world's largest video sharing site said PRS for Music, a British collection society that collects royalties on behalf of nearly 50,000 composers, was asking it to pay "many, many times" more than the previous licensing agreement that has expired.

"The costs are simply prohibitive for us -- under PRS's proposed terms, we would lose significant amounts of money with every playback," the company said in a blog on Monday.

The move is the latest sign of the tension between YouTube and the music industry and also indicates the video site's resolve to keep operating costs under control as it strives to generate meaningful profits for Google.