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Author Dan Cox writes in this article about the "peace" that is breaking through in the copyright infringement war that YouTube has created. YouTube's new policy of sharing revenues with record labels whose music is used in YouTube clips, along with the subsequent agreements reached between YouTube and Warner, and more recently, Universal and CBS, has given YouTube solid legal footing in its attempt to avoid the same copyright issues that ultimately led to the demise of Napster and Grokster.
Cox describes the deal struck between Warner and YouTube. Warner agreed to post its entire catalog of music videos on the site, while YouTube agreed to share any ad revenues gained from these videos, as well as the "65,000 daily submissions which incorporate Warner music." The CEO of Warner is quoted in this article as saying basically that technology is changing and that Warner needs to adapt to these changes. The article also brings up some of YouTube's arguments on why their business model is legal, while Napster's was not. YouTube's founders argue that, unlike Napster, the site knows exactly what material is being posted and that they are willing to take down any material that infringes upon copyright. The article also notes that YouTube is a great place to publicize videos, TV shows, songs, and other forms of entertainment. Cox points to the example of "Lazy Sunday", a Saturday Night Live skit that became immensely popular because of YouTube and led to a resurgence in Saturday Night Live's ratings.
One of the interesting things about this article is that, although it was only written about two months ago, it is already very outdated. It talks about the problems companies encounter when suing YouTube, noting that the company doesn't really have millions in capital to sue for. That is no longer the case after Google's $1.6 billion aquisition of YouTube. It also quotes a Universal representative as saying that YouTube infringes on copyright and is an illegal site. This is no longer Universal's position, being that they, like Warner, recently reached a revenue sharing agreement with YouTube. This article demonstrates how quickly YouTube is moving in its attempts to be seen as a legitimate, legal business.
Cox describes the deal struck between Warner and YouTube. Warner agreed to post its entire catalog of music videos on the site, while YouTube agreed to share any ad revenues gained from these videos, as well as the "65,000 daily submissions which incorporate Warner music." The CEO of Warner is quoted in this article as saying basically that technology is changing and that Warner needs to adapt to these changes. The article also brings up some of YouTube's arguments on why their business model is legal, while Napster's was not. YouTube's founders argue that, unlike Napster, the site knows exactly what material is being posted and that they are willing to take down any material that infringes upon copyright. The article also notes that YouTube is a great place to publicize videos, TV shows, songs, and other forms of entertainment. Cox points to the example of "Lazy Sunday", a Saturday Night Live skit that became immensely popular because of YouTube and led to a resurgence in Saturday Night Live's ratings.
One of the interesting things about this article is that, although it was only written about two months ago, it is already very outdated. It talks about the problems companies encounter when suing YouTube, noting that the company doesn't really have millions in capital to sue for. That is no longer the case after Google's $1.6 billion aquisition of YouTube. It also quotes a Universal representative as saying that YouTube infringes on copyright and is an illegal site. This is no longer Universal's position, being that they, like Warner, recently reached a revenue sharing agreement with YouTube. This article demonstrates how quickly YouTube is moving in its attempts to be seen as a legitimate, legal business.