http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060914/ap_en_mu/universal_music_ceo
Universal Music CEO Doug Morris accused YouTube and MySpace of violating copyright laws when they allow users to post content featuring Universal Artists. He did not reveal an action plan, but did say "we believe these new businesses are copyright infringers and owe us tens of millions of dollars..."
Universal Music Group is currently planning to offer their content free to online viewers through spiral frog, an ad supported website that is set to launch in "late 2006" http://spiralfrog.com/press_release.aspx
I certainly understand the fact that Universal has invested millions of dollars and hours in the development of their artists, but it seems like they should be a little more careful of what statements they make publicly. If I worked at Universal, I would be concerned about the brand image fallout from Morris attacking the incredibly popular market leader. Will YouTube users remember once Spiral Frog is up and running? Further, now that YouTube and MySpace users are in the habit of using these services, what is Spiral Frog going to do to lure them away?
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