After escalating the dispute with songwriters' body PRS last month by pulling music videos from its UK operation, YouTube may now be about to trump that dramatic move with an even more stunning announcement.

The Google-owned video sharing site will agree to all of PRS's demands for licensing payments and return all music videos to the UK site - but only if some of that money is handed out to the actual makers of the videos.

When challenged about YouTube's previous position, which insisted that PRS's licensing demands were incompatible with YouTube's business model, the spokesman, by this time being examined by doctors, added: "We're just going to have to do what nearly everyone else is doing - put 5 second blip ads before the videos. It was bound to happen sooner or later anyway."

Suggestions are that YouTube may be responding to a joint statement made by British record industry some time ago which acknowledged the vitally important role that music videos played in the music business and that "we need to ensure that music video production is a proper business, not a hobby".

Their spokesperson remarked: "Sorry, this is not France."