Followers

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Report: Music companies mull YouTube rival

Major music companies are reportedly considering plans to launch a video site that would compete with Google Inc.’s YouTube.

The Financial Times reported Sunday that the plans under consideration are modeled after Hulu, the video site owned by NBC Universal and News Corp., which is the paper's parent company. Hulu users watch TV shows after seeing a short ad.

The news comes after videos from Warner Music were pulled from the site after it couldn't come to terms on a new contract with Google (Nasdaq: GOOG).

The three other big music owners in talks with Google are EMI, Sony and Universal. They now get a fee each time one of their videos is watched on YouTube, but Google reportedly is pushing to reduce that fee and offer more of the ad revenue associated with the videos.

The Times said a variety of plans are being discussed by the music companies, including a partnership with Hulu, creating a premium service on YouTube, or creating a standalone venture.

No comments: