Legal Research

YouTube’s Now The Second-Largest Search Engine

It says so right here: 2.7 billion searches in November, about a quarter of all Google-based searches, and more searches than Yahoo.

And Google’s starting to figure out how to monetize YouTube.  According to CNET, Universal Music Group (one of the Big 4 labels) is receiving “tens of millions of dollars” is advertising revenues from YouTube.

Speaking of music labels, the WSJ (subscription required) reports today that the Recording Industry Association of America will cease suing people suspected of illegally sharing music online.  (Not that they’ve had much success anyway.)  The RIAA is taking a different approach — use Internet Service Providers as cops, a task that they’re all too willing to embrace:

“The trade group said it has hashed out preliminary agreements with major ISPs under which it will send an email to the provider when it finds a provider’s customers making music available online for others to take.  Depending on the agreement, the ISP will either forward the note to customers, or alert customers that they appear to be uploading music illegally, and ask them to stop.  If the customers continue the file-sharing, they will get one or two more emails, perhaps accompanied by slower service from the provider.  Finally, the ISP may cut off their access altogether.”

Full post as published by Jenkins Webblits on December 19, 2008 (boomark / email).