Well, it looks as though Universal Music Group is going to sue YouTube and possibly MySpace because of the release of copyrighted music videos. Having been to YouTube many times, I can state that their material is not sold. The site profits from advertisements. Of course, YouTube technically should be paying Universal Music for the rights to the videos. However, this situation is not comparable with the Napster lawsuits. Napster allowed the exchange of songs themselves, thus lowering demand for albums. Music videos are largely promotional of the albums, so in a sense these sites are giving Universal Music Group's artists free promotion. This high-handed approach will be counterproductive in that, if it succeeds (which it probably will), it will lessen the promotional opportunities of musical artists and thereby decrease demand for their albums. This has to be one of the most ridiculous proposed lawsuits I've read about:

LOS ANGELES - Universal Music Group, the world's largest record company, contends the wildly popular Web sites YouTube and MySpace are violating copyright laws by allowing users to post music videos and other content involving Universal artists.

"We believe these new businesses are copyright infringers and owe us tens of millions of dollars," Universal Music CEO Doug Morris told investors Wednesday at a conference in Pasadena. "How we deal with these companies will be revealed shortly."

(Later in the Article)

But commercial music videos posted with the blessing of the record labels can also be found on the site. YouTube recently added branded channels and videos that enable companies to advertise on the site, a service Warner Bros. Records used to promote Paris Hilton's debut album.

Capitol Records, meanwhile, has released videos on YouTube by The Vines, Cherish and OK Go.

Universal, however, has made it a priority to get compensation for content that was once seen as purely promotional.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060915/...rsal_music_ceo

I appreciate all replies. Thank you very much.

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