Universal Music likely to sue YouTube, MySpace

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TALKS between Universal Music and the owners of YouTube and MySpace over 'copyright issues' are on the verge of breaking down. Universal Music CEO Doug Morris recently dubbed YouTube and MySpace 'copyright infringers' that owe the outfit tens of millions of US dollars. He said that "how we deal with these companies will be revealed shortly" - in other words the lawyers are writing the letters right now. Talks with News Corp.'s MySpace have been progressing a little better, but not much. YouTube negotiations have broken down completely.

YouTube has a policy of removing copyright-infringing material uploaded by users and has had a reasonable relationship with the music and video industry which uses it for promotion of its material. However Universal seems to have split from the other record labels in trying to squeeze money out of various websites lately. It has started charge Web portals such as Yahoo and Time Warner AOL for playing its artists' music videos online or over video-on-demand services.

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News source: The Inq

(1 reply) #1 G_0 on 15 Sep 2006 - 17:59

Wow. After the news a few weeks ago saying that some media companies were actually working with these sites, and now 1 studio wants to get money out of what the others see as a promotional tool?? What greed these people have.

#1.1 joeydoo on 16 Sep 2006 - 06:10

The media companies with some sense are jumping on the bandwagon. The ones run by old men who blindly drive their businesses into the ground are the ones who attack.

@ old man at universal: If a company is willing to distribute avertisments for your content to a MASSIVE audience for virtually nothing (compared to television). Or if you ignore them, don't pay them, and don't want logos and links (where they can BUY IT) it doesn't cost you ANYTHING! Guess what, if you attack them, you lose idiot.

#2 metalguy90 on 15 Sep 2006 - 18:11

the media industry is a thorn in the side of the technology sector.
first mp3s, then movies, then guitar tabs. whats next? soon we wont be able to whistle a tune! or what... even worse... laugh at a thought of a scene we just remembered..... b/c we'll all have chips planted in our brain!!!

i dont promote making illegal copies but this is getting a little out of hand.

(1 reply) #3 Fourjays on 15 Sep 2006 - 18:22

It isn't even YouTubes or MySpaces fault. It is the fault of those uploading the content.

#3.1 RAID 0 on 15 Sep 2006 - 18:25

That's never stopped "the industry" from suing companies like eDonkey, Napster, ect.

(3 replies) #4 Kreuger on 15 Sep 2006 - 18:26

Uh most of the people on myspace are uploading their own music. So they're infringing themselves?

#4.1 gadean on 15 Sep 2006 - 18:40

This isn't about those individuals.

#4.2 Kreuger on 15 Sep 2006 - 22:50

Quote - gadean said @ #4.1

The only music I've seen on there is on the artist's page.

#4.3 pixels on 16 Sep 2006 - 00:18

Quote - Kreuger said @ #4.2

Search for a pretty popular band and you'll find at least 10 profiles for the same one. People create fake profiles all the time just so they can get a certain song on their profile that isn't on the real band's profile.

(1 reply) #5 excalpius on 15 Sep 2006 - 18:41

Well, since Universal hasn't had a profitable movie in a decade or a good music artist in just as long, I can see why the execs need to graft their enormous salaries from harmless "digital radio" equivalents like myspace and youtube.

After all, the LESS people hear your product, the MORE likely they are to buy it, right? RIGHT?! 8P

The music industry is Stupidity Incorporated right now.

#5.1 yert* on 16 Sep 2006 - 08:26

Yeah no joke. It gets extremely annoying to hear this ****. They just **** off their customers doing this stuff.

#6 MindTrickz on 15 Sep 2006 - 22:53

This is getting ridiciouls now! - Youtube modarates the videos and deletes the ones thay infring with the copyright law.

(2 replies) #7 plastikaa on 16 Sep 2006 - 09:25

Please take down myspace - its rubbish. Then maybe one of the better equvalents can break through. By no means would I say any of these networking sites are fantastic, but mysapce really is the worst of a bad bunch. At least let the best worst one be top.

#7.1 excalpius on 16 Sep 2006 - 18:09

A) The free market determines what's best and what's not. Right now myspace is #1 for a reason. I expect someone will come up with a better one that competes with it or myspace will continue to improve to survive. Either way, we win.

B) Why in the world do YOU care? Can you give us specifics of why myspace is "rubbish" and why you feel the need to lamely squeak out "please take down myspace"?

#7.2 Magallanes on 17 Sep 2006 - 21:50

Popular is not equal to be the best one. Myspace is popular, yes, but also is surrounded by kids, by idiots and by wannabe, specially baited with the context of "friends" (for the friendless people).

IMHO myspace do a nice job for the rest of internet, keep a lot of indesirable people grouped into myspace (at least for a moment). Nobody need myspace, you can have a real blogs for free anyways.

#8 obsolete_power on 16 Sep 2006 - 18:36

Universal, being the piece of crap company that it is of course would go after YouTube and MySpace. Their sad attempt to get more money only shows exactly how damn run of the mill they are.

#9 rekka on 16 Sep 2006 - 19:29

Who cares about MySpace? It's owned by a giant media company anyway. The more media companies try to destroy each other, the better it is.

(1 reply) #10 JiveMasterT on 17 Sep 2006 - 04:45

Yay! Let's sue Youtube and get no money out of it.

Ever notice they don't do any advertising? That's right... no profits... just some private investors funding the site. I can't even imagine why you would sue them. They do put forth a best effort to prevent that stuff.

#10.1 SomeAzn on 17 Sep 2006 - 18:13

Huh? Have you been to YouTube before?

Scroll to the very bottom and you will see a link that says:

"Advertise with Us"

Also, there are sponsored movie trailers on the right hand side and companies can pay to have their channel advertised on the front page.

#11 C_Guy on 18 Sep 2006 - 15:00

Anything to help take down MySpace is fantastic. It's about the biggest load of digital crap on the Internet.

#12 RAID 0 on 18 Sep 2006 - 16:09

I'm not a fan of MySpace, even though I have a profile on there. The problem is nothing works right 100% of the time. I get more errors than anything. Busting the chops of a bunch of slap-asses is fine with me.

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