Music videos from Universal Music have reportedly been banned from appearing on any of Australia’s Foxtel-owned music channels over the past two weeks, meaning no Justin Bieber, Weeknd or Drake.
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Australia’s The Music Network reports a dispute between Foxel and the world’s leading record label likely centered around artist royalty payments has interrupted programming on Foxtel’s five music channels — Channel [V], [V] Hits, CMC, Max and Smooth.
Universal and EMI Music artists account for seven of the top 10 spots on this week’s ARIA Singles sales charts. That means Bieber’s “Sorry,” The Weeknd’s “The Hills” and Drake’s “Hotline Bling” are not getting play on these stations. The same goes for all Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez and 5 Seconds of Summer music videos.
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Neither side is speaking on the matter and its unclear whether Universal is refusing to allow its artists’ videos to be played, or whether Foxtel is refusing to air them.
In turn, Sony Music’s artists are now accounting for 75 percent of the most played songs on Foxtel in the past two weeks, The Music Network reports.