Warner Music Videos Return to Youtube after Absence
YouTube says music videos from Warner Music Group Corp. will return to the video site in the coming months after a nine-month dispute over deal terms.
Most of the catalog of videos from artists such as Madonna, Metallica and Green Day will be available for free viewing.
YouTube’s head of music partnerships, Chris Maxcy, said Tuesday the companies will share advertising revenue from the videos, with Warner getting the majority share.
Maxcy says the deal is “completely separate” from the online music venture Vevo, which YouTube and Vivendi SA’s Universal Music Group are launching later this year.
The deal announced Tuesday means YouTube, a unit of Google Inc., now has partnerships will all four major recording labels Universal, Sony, Warner and EMI and their respective publishing divisions.
Warner, the music company which represents big name acts such as Eric Clapton, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Green Day, removed videos from the clip-sharing website, which is owned by Google, in December amid disagreement over a new licensing arrangement.
Chris Maxcy, YouTube’s head of music partnerships, said that the companies will share advertising revenue from the videos, with Warner getting the majority share.
“Music licensing: it’s complicated,” he wrote in a blog post. “But today, all of that is beside the point: we are happy to announce that Warner Music Group’s artists are returning home to YouTube”.
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