Warner Music Group and Google Inc's YouTube say they have reached a deal which will see music videos from artists such as Madonna and Green Day once again feature on the popular website.
Though financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, executives said Warner Music would receive the majority of advertising revenue generated around the music clips.
"It sets us up for a sustainable partnership going forward by sharing revenues, where the vast majority of the revenues will be going to Warner Music associated with advertising when consumers watch or listen to the content on YouTube," said Chris Maxcy, head of Music partnerships at YouTube on a conference call.
Warner, the world's third largest music company, will have the ability to have a number of different YouTube channels representing artists, so will likely also sell against those various channels. Vivendi's Universal Music, the No. 1 music company, currently has the most popular channel on YouTube.
Music videos from Warner's acts were removed from the site after licensing agreement talks broke down last December over financial terms.
Music companies have long argued that popular social networking and online video sites should pay more to license music or music videos.
But such sites still generate small amounts of advertising revenue relative to their huge popularity and have pushed back against the labels in fraught negotiations.
The deal with Warner Music means YouTube will now feature videos
from all the major music companies including Universal Music Group,
Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Music.
