So Universal is now herding the sheep toward the gate. In a move that has proved questionable, Universal has signed a deal with YouTube for distribution of content while simultaneously launching an attack against its competitors – oligarchs of the world unite!
On 10-9-06 universal announced

YouTube, Inc., a consumer media company, which enables people to watch and share original videos through a Web experience, and Universal Music Group (UMG), the world’s leading music company, today announced an agreement offering YouTube and its users access to thousands of videos on YouTube from UMG’s extensive roster of artists covering every genre of music. In addition, under this agreement, UMG broadly embraces the power and creativity of user-generated content, allowing users to incorporate music from UMG’s recorded music catalog into the videos they create and upload onto YouTube. UMG and its artists will be compensated not just for UMG produced videos but also for the unique, user-created content that incorporates UMG music. full

On 10-18-06

Universal Music sued two other user-generated content sites for distributing its music videos without permission. Universal alleged that Bolt.com and Grouper.com built traffic by redistributing video content from its artists. Universal would prefer distribution deals rather than getting bogged down in court battles since user-content sites are increasingly popular. It would seem wiser to strike deals rather than try to put the Genie back in the bottle, but we’ll see how aggressively Universal follows through on the suit. Remember, it was exactly because of the legal liabilities that Mark Cuban said only a “moron” would buy YouTube.
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