YouTube

YouTube Head of Content Partnerships Steps Down

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 3, 2009 - 10:33am.
San Bruno, Calif. - Google's YouTube has lost its head of content partnerships, as Jordan Hoffner has left to joint a new content venture at IAC headed up by Ben Silverman, PaidContent reported. Hoffner will be replaced at YouTube by Chris Maxcy, who was leading YouTube's music content partnership efforts.

Funny or Die to Launch Dedicated YouTube Channel

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 29, 2009 - 3:27pm.
San Francisco - Funny or Die, the Web comedy studio backed by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, plans to launch its own YouTube (NASD: GOOG) channel next month, COO Mitch Galbraith said at Digital Media Wire's Digital Media Conference West in San Francisco, NewTeeVee reported. The company, which had previously operated a standalone site with an embeddable player, also has plans to produce a TV show for HBO and a feature film.

Live U2 Concert on YouTube Serves 10 Million Streams

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 29, 2009 - 9:41am.
San Bruno, Calif. - The live video webcast of U2's concert at the Rose Bowl on Sunday via Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube served up nearly 10 million streams, a company spokesperson told NewTeeVee.
tags: Video | Music | Google | YouTube | U2 | Webcasting |

Labels, Artists Target YouTube in Germany Over Copyrights

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 27, 2009 - 11:45am.
*A correction was made to this story.

Hamburg, Germany
- Google and YouTube face a copyright-related investigation in Germany, after a group of independent labels, publishers and artists filed complaints against the companies, Billboard reported. Parties to the complaints include labels Highball Music and Coconut Music; publishers Gerig Musikverlage, Bishop Songs and Musikverlag Progressive; and artists including soprano Sarah Brightman.

AT&T to Sponsor Vevo Music Video Portal Venture

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 27, 2009 - 10:33am.
New York - Vevo, the online music video portal joint venture between Universal Music Group, Sony (NYSE: SNE) Music and Abu Dhabi Media Company, has signed AT&T (NYSE: T) as the first sponsor of the site.

YouTube to Stream Live Webcast of Full U2 Concert

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 20, 2009 - 12:13pm.
San Bruno, Calif. - Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube has announced plans to offer a live webcast of U2's concert this coming Sunday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The live webcast of the entire concert -- a first for YouTube -- will kick off at 8:30 p.m. PST and be available for free to users in 16 countries. Viewers will also be able to chime-in in real-time via a Twitter widget on U2's YouTube channel. A rebroadcast of the full show will also become available on Monday.

tags: Video | Music | Google | YouTube | U2 |

Independent Label Group PIAS Signs YouTube Deal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 19, 2009 - 12:00pm.
London - Independent record label PIAS Entertainment Group has signed a deal with Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube, under which PIAS sell and manage the advertising sold against videos from its artists on the site, and share revenue with artists. The deal includes both official and user-generated videos, and will additionally see the parties collaborate on channel and page sponsorships.

Abu Dhabi Invests in Music Video Portal Joint Venture Vevo

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 19, 2009 - 8:19am.
New York - Vevo, the music video portal joint venture between Sony (NYSE: SNE) Music and Universal Music Group, has received an investment from Abu Dhabi Media Company, All Things D reports. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, the report cites a source who says the joint venture was valued at $300 million for the deal.

YouTube Serving "Well Over a Billion Views a Day"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 9, 2009 - 9:29am.
San Bruno, Calif. - Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube is now serving "well over a billion views a day," CEO and co-founder Chad Hurley wrote in a blog post. "Three years after the acquisition, our platform and our business continue to grow and evolve," Hurley wrote. "As we've started to see demand for longer, full-length content, we've brought more shows and movies to the site. We're working hard to keep up with the fast pace of technology to bring you everything you would expect from the world's largest video site: better quality; a full spectrum of choices and tools for users, partners and advertisers; and ways to make the YouTube experience your own anywhere, anytime."

Warner Music Taps Outrigger Media for Music Video Ad Sales

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 8, 2009 - 11:36am.
New York - Major record label Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG) has partnered with Outrigger Media to sell advertising against its music videos on YouTube, as well as WMG-operated sites and other platforms. WMG recently reached a new agreement with YouTube, after pulling its videos for a nine-month period after negotiations broke down. Outrigger also sells ads for video publishers including Veoh and Next New Networks.

Report: YouTube Employees May Have Uploaded Viacom Clips

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 6, 2009 - 8:12am.
San Francisco - Viacom (NYSE: VIA), the media conglomerate that filed a $1 billion copyright infringement suit against Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube, may have uncovered evidence that YouTube employees themselves uploaded Viacom content to the site, CNET News.com reported, citing three sources with knowledge of the case. The evidence is reportedly found in emails, which "indicate that YouTube managers knew and discussed the existence of unauthorized content on the site with employees but chose not to remove the material," CNET reports.

Warner Music Videos to Return to YouTube

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 29, 2009 - 8:34am.
New York - Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG) has signed a new licensing agreement with Google's YouTube (NASD: GOOG), which will see the major record label's music videos return to the site after a nine-month absence. In recent weeks, several outlets had reported that a deal between the two parties was close.

Record 161M U.S. Internet Users Watch Web Video in August

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 29, 2009 - 7:21am.
Reston, Va. - About 161 million U.S. Internet users watch a video online in August -- the largest audience ever recorded -- according to new figures from comScore.

Google Adds YouTube Insight for Content ID Partners

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 28, 2009 - 9:17am.
Mountain View, Calif. - Google (NASD: GOOG) has announced that the over 1,000 content owner partners using its Content ID system to track and remove or authorize their content on YouTube can now see additional data on the videos via YouTube Insight. Every major U.S. network broadcaster, movie studio and record label is now using the Content ID service, Google said. Content owners will now gain access to the more detailed YouTube Insight data on unauthorized videos uploaded by users that they allow to remain on the site.

YouTube Selling Ringtones via Overlay Ads on Music Videos

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 23, 2009 - 12:50pm.
San Bruno, Calif. - Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube has begun selling ringtones, via affiliate links to iTunes and Amazon in overlay ads on music videos, NewTeeVee reports.

Report: Warner Music, YouTube Close to Music Video Deal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 21, 2009 - 9:20am.
New York - Major record label Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG) and Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube "have managed to reach terms on most of the major issues" of a dispute over licensing music videos for display on YouTube, and "a final deal could be announced within the next few weeks," CNET News.com reported, citing sources with knowledge of the talks.

Movie Based on YouTube Star "Fred" in the Works

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 18, 2009 - 12:14pm.
Los Angeles - YouTube (NASD: GOOG) star "Fred," whose kid-friendly video channel until recently featured the most subscribers on the entire site, will be the subject of a feature-length movie, Tubefilter reports. A production company called Derf Films has put out a casting call for the movie, which will likely feature the real-life Fred -- sixteen-year-old Lucas Cruikshank, who is making a six-figure income off of his hit Web videos.

PRS Deal Brings Music Videos Back to YouTube in U.K.

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 3, 2009 - 7:27am.
London - U.K. royalty collection society PRS for Music announced on Thursday that it has reached a new licensing agreement with Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube, which will return music videos to the site in the U.K. Videos had largely been absent on YouTube in the U.K. since March, when PRS pulled them after unsuccessful licensing renegotiations.

WSJ: YouTube in Talks with Studios on Web Movie Rentals

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2009 - 11:11am.
San Bruno, Calif. - YouTube, the popular online video site owned by Google (NASD: GOOG), is in talks with movie studios Lionsgate, Sony (NYSE: SNE) and Warner Bros. (NYSE: TWX) about the possibility of streaming movies that site visitors could view for a fee, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Report: Vevo in Talks with CBS, NBC to Add Music Programming

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 2, 2009 - 8:34am.
New York - Vevo, the music video site joint venture between Universal Music Group and Sony (NYSE: SNE) Music that will be based on technology from Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube, is in talks with CBS (NYSE: CBS) and NBC (NYSE: GE) to license and develop music-related programming for the site, Reuters reported.