Google To Offer Sony Music Videos for Free
Oct 9th, 2006 | By James Lewin | Category: Digital Video Downloads, Streaming VideoSony BMG Music Entertainment and Google today announced plans to make Sony music videos available for online streaming at no cost to users. They also announced plans to let Web publishers embed Sony music videos on their sites and share in advertising revenue.
Starting this month, users can watch thousands of Sony music videos on Google Video. In the coming months, users will also be able to access Sony music videos through Google’s partner websites in its AdSense network.
For example, a fan site devoted to a particular artist could run ad-supported music videos from that artist. Each time a user is interested in the accompanying ad and clicks on the video, the web publisher, Sony, and Google will split the revenue.
The companies also plan to work together to create a new service that will allow music fans to access user-created music video content featuring material from Sony’s library of recorded music, while at the same time respecting the rights of artists and copyright holders.
Google’s service promises to offer much of the same content as YouTube, but respecting the copyright of the content creators.
“We see this agreement as an important part of our overall strategy to innovate, find new ways for our artists to connect with their fans, and develop new revenue streams. We look forward to working closely with Google as we roll out this ambitious new effort,” commented Thomas Hesse, President, Global Digital Business, Sony.
Sony’s music videos will be sponsored by Google advertisers, making them free to all users. The advertising revenue generated will be shared by Sony and Google.The companies also plan to distribute select videos to websites around the world via Google’s AdSense publisher network, making it even easier for music fans to access streaming premium content while surfing the Web. Web publishers will be able to easily display videos that match the tone of their sites adding value to their online content and creating a new way to earn revenue from their sites.