This is assuming that the long tail is independent (no pun intended), but it isn't. Musical taste is a very complex issue, and lots of people are going to be a

This is assuming that the long tail is independent (no pun intended), but it isn't. Musical taste is a very complex issue, and lots of people are going to be annoyed that a handful of their favorite bands aren't on youtube anymore. Others are going to be really angry that their entire favorite genre is missing. Are enough people going to pissed off enough for it to hurt their bottom line? My guess is yes, especially after the heavy-handed tactics they've been using to try to force adoption of some of their other services that nobody wants. The bigger problem is that it damages YouTube's brand. It's not just a video hosting site, it's THE video hosting site. It has everything- cute cats, stupid people eating cinnamon, your favorite music, etc. They're going to have real problems when the average user has to go elsewhere to see a video that she cares about, especially if that elsewhere also has cat videos and doesn't require a Google+ account to comment. Supporting the long tail is the cost of maintaining their monopoly.