Warner music coming to Hulu.com

Warner Music Group said it will provide music videos, live concerts, artist interviews and other material to Hulu, a joint venture between News Corp., NBC Universal and The Walt Disney Co.

"We're pleased to be working with Hulu as we expand our premium ad-supported video strategy to provide our artists with a customised and flexible approach to marketing and monetising their music," Warner Music executive vice president Michael Nash said in a statement.

Hulu primarily offers full-length television shows and movies for free but last month it signed EMI Music, its first major music label.

Unlike YouTube, Hulu features only professional content and does not show user-generated material. Hulu can currently only be viewed by Internet users in the United States but plans to eventually expand worldwide.

Warner, whose music labels include Atlantic Records, Rhino Records and Warner Bros. Records, said artist pages and channels will also be featured on Hulu. A first page is already on the site featuring the band "Muse."

Warner Music is the only major music label which has not reached agreement with Vevo.com, a joint venture music site launched this month by the Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Abu Dhabi Media Co.

As album sales decline and online piracy bites into their profits, major record labels have been forging new arrangements such as deals with MySpace, Apple's iTunes, YouTube and others to generate new revenue streams.

Source: AFP

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