The video site will not host WMG videos

Dec 22, 2008 09:30 GMT  ·  By
YouTube will not broadcast WMG videos until the two put an end to their dispute
   YouTube will not broadcast WMG videos until the two put an end to their dispute

YouTube announced recently that its discussions with the Warner Music Group, which manages such artists as Madonna, Linkin Park and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, failed to reach satisfying conclusions for both of them. As a result, the video-sharing website, now owned by Google, refused to broadcast videos from WMG. In turn, the company said that it would not accept conditions that did not properly repay artists, labels and managers for the products they put out.

"We are working actively to find a resolution with YouTube that would enable the return of our artists' content to the site," WMG said in a statement recently. Sources close to the negotiations say that the company is looking to resolve the conflict, seeing how millions of people visit YouTube daily, which makes it a very solid promotion platform for artists and labels.

"Until then, we simply cannot accept terms that fail to appropriately and fairly compensate recording artists, songwriters, labels and publishers for the value they provide," the statement said.

"Every day we work with the music community to license your favorite music for you to use on YouTube. But music licensing is very complicated. Sometimes, if we can't reach acceptable business terms, we must part ways with successful partners," said a statement released by YouTube.

The video host already displays a message that reads "you may notice videos that contain music owned by Warner Music Group being blocked from the site," adding that respecting copyright and securing deals with other companies is sometimes very difficult, and that, until the situation is resolved, there will be no more WMG videos up for viewing.

The fight between the two parties will only affect YouTube visitors, which will no longer have the possibility to check out their favorite artists. As such, in theory, YouTube stands to lose most from this fight, but Warner Music Group will probably lose even more in the long-run, because of fewer markets to deploy its products.