YouTube in talks with Warner Music to host videos (AFP)

NEW YORK (AFP) - US recording label Warner Music said it was in talks with the phenomenally popular Internet site YouTube to post its artists' song videos online.

"I can confirm that we are having discussions with YouTube," Warner Music spokeswoman Amanda Collins said, declining to give any further details.

The Wall Street Journal said that major labels Universal Music, EMI and Warner Music were all exploring "possible arrangements with YouTube".

Britain's EMI is discussing "a variety of different business models" about distributing its music content via the site, the newspaper quoted a spokesman for the London-based company as saying.

California-based YouTube's popularity has exploded in recent months. It now boasts more than 100 million daily views of the home-made videos and archived material that comprise its contents.

But with copyright issues looming large over much of the content, the music industry is grappling with how to protect its material on the Internet, the Wall Street Journal noted.

Different business models could include a pay-per-download system like Apple Computer's iTunes, or a subscription-based service, it said. YouTube is free to use and relies on advertising, but is not believed to be making a profit yet.

It has already been embraced by "old world" media, announcing in June a tie-up with NBC television to show replays of clips from the US network.

Started in February 2005 by three Silicon Valley veterans, YouTube saw its visitor numbers quadruple from January to June, according to Nielsen/NetRatings, and now has 60 percent of the online video market.

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