Even if Warner Music Group has been saying since Saturday that it was the one who asked that the label's videos be removed from YouTube, it would appear that that's not exactly what happened. The video site began removing videos from its site after Warner came to YouTube with an “11th-hour demand” for better financial terms. It's interesting to see that this comes in a time when all four major labels, including Universal Music Group, Sony Music and EMI are renegotiating their licensing deals with YouTube. As for Warner, they received a response for their demand when YouTube began pulling videos.

 

Furthermore, the video site also notified the public of the split by posting a note to the company's blog. Ever since, Warner's PR people have been busy trying to get their side of the story out. It looks like Warner wants more revenue and YouTube can't offer it. However, YouTube really seems to have brought important revenue to at least one of the top labels, as Universal Music said that the site has generated tens of millions of dollars for the recording company this year, up 80 percent from last year. It looks like Universal will likely book nearly $100 million in video-streaming revenue, most of it from YouTube.

 

Even if some voices talked about the top labels' plan to build their own YouTube competitor, there are no current plans for such a site. It's hard to say whether YouTube or Warner will regret this more. Google's site is the Web's No. 1 video site, which topped 100 million visitors in October. Of the top 10 YouTube channels, 7 are music related, while Warner Bros. Records' channel does not occupy a top place. However, by ending the agreement, YouTube will remove (if it hasn't already) all videos of top artists, such as Led Zeppelin, Madonna, TI or Eric Clapton.