Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Viacom and Google Fight in Court, but Work Together to Keep Kanye West Off of YouTube
Yes, Viacom is still suing Google for a billion dollars, because it says too many of its videos showed up on YouTube. But that doesn’t mean Viacom and Google can’t work together to prevent the cable giant’s videos from showing up on YouTube.
Want to see this in action? Go to YouTube and try to find a clip of the Kanye West/Taylor Swift/Beyoncé incident from Sunday night’s Video Music Awards.
A licensing dispute means Warner Music Group can’t promote a new album by one of its biggest acts on the world’s biggest video site. But you can still find Green Day videos on the site, if you know where to look. What gives?
Sure, YouTube dominated the online video world in April, and Hulu is continuing its rocket ride. But it’s surprising to see that Viacom’s MTV, which squandered its natural lead in online video long ago, had a big month, too. What happened?
I’m still skeptical that “The Performance Rights Act,” which would require radio stations to pay musicians–or at least, music labels–whenever they play one of their recordings, will ever get through Congress. Not because it’s a bad idea, mind you, but because the music business seems like an unlikely candidate for Washington aid. The bill, however, did take one big step forward today.
MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe is likely to be on his way out of the company he helped found, and News Corp., which bought the social network in 2005, has a single potential successor in mind. Sources say that person is former Facebook COO Owen Van Natta, who is currently CEO of music start-up Project Playlist. People familiar with the matter tell me that DeWolfe and News Corp., specifically new digital boss Jon Miller, are discussing a leadership change today.
At first glance, it seems straightforward: The world’s biggest music company and the world’s biggest video site team up to make a new music video hub. But Vevo, the arrangement announced by Google’s YouTube and Vivendi’s Universal Music Group yesterday, isn’t quite as straightforward as the two companies made it sound.
Viacom hauled Google into court over copyright violations at YouTube two years ago. So what’s happened since then? Not much, says Philippe Dauman. But he does say that his son continues enjoy working at the company he’s suing.
Think Web ads are annoying now? An industry trade group says they’re not annoying enough. Get ready for the “XXL Box” and “the pushdown”–online ads that insist on your attention.
