Much buzz today surrounds the launch of video downloads on its YouTube service, which includes the ability for its content partners (including labels) to charge for those downloads.Users will pay using Google’s own Google Checkout system, with the content owner setting the prices – $0.99 is a popular price so far, according to TechCrunch. There doesn’t appear to be any DRM involved, which may put labels off. However, it’s the latest attempt by YouTube to enable its content partners to make money from the service, following the introduction of advertising and click-through links to Amazon and iTunes.It may be no co-incidence that Sony Music Entertainment has apparently become the first major label to re-sign with YouTube, although details of the deal’s finer points are predictably scarce.It’ll come as no surprise that the major negotiation points were an upfront payment from YouTube to Sony, the size of the minimum payment per play of its videos on the site, and the exact revenue share from related advertising. Sony has more than 93,000 subscribers to its YouTube channel (plus more than 2.3 million views). Sony’s decision to re-sign contrasts with Warner Music Group’s recent decision to pull its videos from YouTube.
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Tools: Kaiber
In the year or so since its launch, AI startup Kaiber has been making waves,…