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Popular video-sharing website YouTube (link) yesterday signed a deal with Warner Music Group, allowing the site to show promo videos by Warner Music artists without breaking any copyright laws.
The news comes just a few days after Universal Music Group called both YouTube and MySpace - which can also host songs and images without the correct permission - "copyright infringers" that owe the industry millions of dollars.
Some 100 million videos are watched on YouTube every day, and the deal with Warner Music will allow the record company - the world's fourth-largest label - to broadcast interviews with their artists (such as Madonna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, pictured), to show behind-the-scenes footage of their latest videos, and to document the process of making an album (for starters). Any revenue generated will be shared between the two companies.
YouTube users unconnected with Warner Music will be able to upload videos by the label's artists without infringing any copyright. The developing friction between YouTube and Universal, though, could result in a lawsuit.
