This seems kind of predatory from YouTube's perspective. This is the web: why can't Zoe publish her music on her own terms?
The real reason people use YouTube is discovery. I can easily find new stuff to watch, and just hit play; artists can easily be discovered and grow an audience (or at least, that's the idea). Seems like it's time for a more open alternative.
They shouldn't. But right now, YouTube is a huge part of being discoverable as an artist online. There should be more of an ecosystem; more competition would result in more favorable terms. And seeing as this is the web, an ecosystem should still be browseable as a coherent whole.
My wider point is: why isn't it as easy to discover an artist's work on the wider web as it is on YouTube? Isn't this an opportunity for someone?
You would think that! It turns out that when every artist, label, publisher, and retailer under the sun has the same idea... discovery isn't actually any easier. All you get is noise.
There was a huge and diverse ecosystem. It's mostly gone now. This for the most part works better for users, which is why that old ecosystem is mostly gone. As a rule, users don't want to bounce between five or ten or twenty sites to find what they want - users prefer one or two.
More specifically, there's a huge number of startups hellbent on being that someone. I've personally had contact with several. That you didn't know this is an excellent comment on how big the perceived opportunity actually is.
The real reason people use YouTube is discovery. I can easily find new stuff to watch, and just hit play; artists can easily be discovered and grow an audience (or at least, that's the idea). Seems like it's time for a more open alternative.