October 13, 2009 by James Oliver
According to a video blog post from Chad Hurley, one of YouTube’s founders, the world’s most popular streaming video website currently enjoys more than a billion hits per day. The announcement marks the third anniversary of the site’s $1.65 buyout by Google, a price those within the search engine giant have since described as ‘a premium’.
The announcement comes at the end of a year that has seen no shortage of controversy for YouTube, after the site was criticised for the royalties it paid for hosting music videos. The crisis led to a standoff that resulted in music videos being taken off YouTube. YouTube averted catastrophe by paying an undisclosed fee to PRS, (the performing rights society) though it neatly highlights the dangers inherent in being the streaming video leader.
As part of the vlog, Hurley reflected on the original aims of the site. “We wanted to create a place where anyone with a video camera, a computer, and an internet connection can share their life, art, and voice with the world, and in many cases they can make a living from doing so.”
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