“There’s not very much that can shake the power of iPod or iTunes. That is until YouTube co-founder Steve Chen says he wants to have ‘every music video ever created’ on YouTube.com within the next 18 months. Then, anyone that works for Apple is no doubt going to start their morning with a spew of profanity,” Christopher Hogg writes for Digital Journal.
Hogg writes, “EMI, the British music group behind Coldplay and Gorillaz, says it is now in talks with the Web TV giant to host music videos and other content on the popular social networking website.”
“YouTube, which has about 20 million monthly visitors watching more than 100 million videos every day, has confirmed it has held discussions with a number of record labels in a bid to enrich the site with videos. Warner Music Group, the music moniker that was involved in a takeover battle with EMI earlier this year, also says it is in talks with the site,” Hogg writes.
Hogg writes, “If YouTube gets its hands on ‘every’ music video, it marks the beginning and end of music as the world knows it. Without more content changes (please no crappy reality shows) channels like MTV and Canada’s popular MuchMusic are going to have to start taking longer summer vacations.”
Hogg writes, “But this news is a lot bigger than MTV: A free YouTube music video service will end the paid-for content business model and will trip iTunes until it falls flat on its face. Numero uno no more.”
Full article here.
Hogg’s prediction of iTunes’ death is amazingly premature. At what level of quality will the music labels allow these free YouTube music videos’ audio tracks to be encoded? How many songs off the average album even have a video? Those are just two questions that spring immediately to mind. A free YouTube music video service will almost certainly not end the paid-for content business model or “trip iTunes until it falls flat on its face.” Numero uno is much more secure than Hogg seems to understand.
[UPDATED: 9:44am. Changed “three” to “two” for the number of questions that sprang immediately to mind. There was a third, which we considered too obvious and thusly partially edited it out, but here it is now: How many music videos does Hogg think Apple sells anyway?]
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YouTube plans to take on Apple’s iTunes with free music videos – August 17, 2006