Monday, December 22, 2008

Impact of the Youtube and Warner Music Fallout

Youtube has encountered another licensing battle with a media giant, after Warner Music Group demanded for the video platform to remove thousands of music videos featuring artists under the WMG label.
You may recall a similar conflict between Viacom and Youtube in 2007, when  Viacom sent upwards of 100,000 DMCA takedown notices and sued Youtube for large-scale copyright infringement.
An excerpt from today's article in the  New York Times explains the reasoning behind Warner's demand to remove the music videos.
 

 Music and the other major record labels - Universal Music, Sony BMG and EMI - reached licensing pacts with YouTube two years ago. ...Disagreements about whether the labels should be paid in advance or after the videos are viewed have contributed to the tension between Warner and YouTube .Warner’s deal with YouTube expired many months ago, a spokesman for Warner, Will Tanous, confirmed. The other labels are all thought to be negotiating for new licensing pacts, although representatives for those companies did not respond to requests for comment on Sunday.
 

The public's reaction will be interesting to watch. Viacom received a black eye when it first attacked Youtube, but as every corporation struggles to remain profitable in this slow economy, Warner's actions may seem reasonable. What's your take on Warner's demand?

Posted By Matt O'Hern at 12:49 PM
Permanent Link: Impact of the Youtube and Warner Music Fallout | Comments (1)

(1) Comments on Impact of the Youtube and Warner Music Fallout

It's a terrible experience on You Tube now for viewing content which isn't infact there anymore. The thumbnails need taking down if they can't be played and the licensing agreement needs to be arrived at quickly between the two companies (which is clearly not likely to happen).

Yes ownership is an issue so sort it out rather than rashly demand changes in what the public is used to. It's damaging for WMG image to be flexing muscles against You Tube, people's channel of choice. We await the results of the corporate legal battle. It sucks, Merry Christmas.

Comments by LindsayDavies : Tuesday, December 23, 2008 at 07:08 AM

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