According to Warner Music Group, negotiations between them and video sharing giant YouTube have broken down, and the group has removed all their music videos from the site.
Currently each of the Big 4 labels are renegotiating their licensing deals with YouTube.
“We are working actively to find a resolution with YouTube that would enable the return of our artists’ content to the site,” Warner noted. “Until then, we simply cannot accept terms that fail to appropriately and fairly compensate recording artists, songwriters, labels and publishers for the value they provide.”
Earlier this week, Universal Music noted that YouTube had become a strong revenue stream for the studio, and that it “has generated ‘tens of millions’ of dollars for the recording company this year, up 80 percent from last year.” Universal hopes to add more content to YouTube soon, likely full length feature films.
“If we can’t reach acceptable business terms, we must part ways with successful partners,” Google (owner of YouTube) added. “For example, you may notice videos that contain music owned by Warner Music Group being blocked from the site.”
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The star hip-hop producer Timbaland has announced that he has made a deal with Verizon Wireless to produce the first ever “mobile album” which will be exclusively available on V Cast.
For the deal, Timbaland will produce one song per month for every month during 2008, each time working with a different artist and touring the country on the Verizon Mobile Recording Studio Bus.
The hitmaker says the deal will help him reach out to more fans because “every place don’t get a CD (but) everybody has a mobile phone.”
He also added, “Just producing a mobile album has never been done. I’m the first to ever do it.”
Despite recent events in which artists have left labels in efforts to reach new fans, Timbaland says he will be sticking by Interscope. In fact, Interscope artists will be the only musicians he will be working with for his mobile album.
From Verizon’s point of view, the deal is a “marriage of promotional opportunity and a large distribution platform,” director of digital music Ed Ruth says. “Our goal is to show the music industry that we’re truly a viable distribution platform for them.”
Each new Track will be released as a full length download or ringtone and will be available only through V Cast for $1.99 USD.
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Japan’s largest retail chain, Tsutaya, has announced that it will be starting an HD video on demand (VOD) service that will allow users to download titles from home using the acTVila portal that is popular on Japanese plasma and LCD HDTVs.
The chain did not specify what format the videos were in, but did say that users will have 48 hours to watch the films or TV shows as many times as they want.
Tsutaya has over 27 million members and 1,330 branches in Japan and added it plans to make deals with Paramount, Warner Brothers, Walt Disney and NBC Universal to expand its available online library to 2000 titles. The chain also added that “high-speed fiber-optic connections are required for use of the service,” and about a quarter of Japan’s 48 million homes are currently equipped.
The service is set to launch tomorrow with downloads of the first seasons of Heroes, Lost and Desperate Housewives. Each full length movie will cost 735 yen (about $7 USD) with other prices unknown right now.
