Middio is a new site, currently in beta, that’s indexing music videos from YouTube and tagging them with the artist and song name. The site plans to offer improved searching and browsing for music videos and better filtering of irrelevant content. The site plans to also offer an option for saving videos in iPod-compatible format.

Here’s the description from their site:

Middio is a simple website that organizes music videos uploaded by the public to YouTube. In other words, Middio goes through the trouble of finding and properly tagging music videos already floating around the web so that you don’t have to. No bothersome ads are shown on any page or before any videos begin — Middio gives you only what you ask for.

It’s the latest site to piggyback on YouTube’s popularity. One has to wonder, though, about the viability of a site that is dependent on YouTube usability flaws. YouTube could improve their search relevency and make Middio redundant.

You also have to wonder about building a business that depends on another businesses’ ability to use a third-party’s content. Earlier in the year, Viacom sued Google/YouTube for $1.6

via TechCrunch

Google’s attempts to turn YouTube into a moneymaking venture are failing to impress some analysts.

Google moved some of its top executives to YouTube to hammer out deals with media companies, but at least one major deal recently fell through. YouTube promised to roll out new technology to prevent copyrighted material from appearing on the site, but in the meantime, pirated clips continue to pop up. Unhappy with YouTube’s terms, Viacom decided to forgo YouTube, and instead is striking out on its own online-video ventures.

“I give them a C-minus” in dealmaking, said Josh Bernoff, principal analyst with Forrester Research. “When you negotiate with a media company, you have to demonstrate respect for their content.”

Bernoff adds that YouTube needs to use more sophisticated technology to prevent unauthorized uploads, which would in turn help foster more trust between YouTube and media companies.

“There is software out there — it’s not perfect, but it’s out there,” he said.
via Washington Post

YouTube founder Chad Hurley has confirmed to BBC NEWS that his team was working on a revenue-sharing mechanism that would “reward creativity”.

The system would be rolled out in a couple of months, he said, and use a mixture of adverts, including short clips shown ahead of the actual film. The offer will only apply to people who own the full copyright of the videos that they are uploading to the YouTube website.

YouTube is working on “audio fingerprinting” technologies to identify copyrighted material, which could be used to identify videos that use copyrighted musc without permission.

YouTube vierwers will not have to put up with overly long “pre-roll” adverts, according to Hurley. Add clips of three seconds length will be one of the options, but the details had not been worked out yet.

Failed Internet video site Intertainer has filed a lawsuit asserting that Apple, Google and Napster are infringing on a 2005 patent that covers the commercial distribution of audio and video over the Internet.

Founded by Jonathan T. Taplin and two other Hollywood entertainment executives in 1996, Intertainer developed technology to distribute movies on demand through cable and phone lines for viewing on televisions and personal computers. It gained investors including Intel, Microsoft, Sony, NBC and Comcast.

“Intertainer was the leader of the idea of entertainment on demand over Internet platforms before Google was even thought up,” said Mr. Taplin, now an adjunct professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. He and a secretary constitute the entire remaining staff of Intertainer.

According to Theodore Stevenson, Intertainer’s lawyer, the company filed suit against Apple, Google and Napster because they were perceived as leaders in the market for digital downloads. He declined to specify the damages that Intertainer was seeking.

Apple, Google and Napster have declined to comment on the lawsuit.

via New York Times

Disney is losing its patience with Google/YouTube.

A senior Walt Disney executive said she sees limits to how long her company will tolerate copyright infringement of its programming by YouTube users.

Anne Sweeney, the head of Disneys entertainment and news television properties, said YouTube needed to do more than enforce its take-down policy in response to complaints about video piracy from media owners such as Disney.

“We’ve had the phone calls, which are when we see clips of our content going up,” said Sweeney. “We have called and asked YouTube to take them our video programming down.”

“Disney and YouTube need to hold further discussions to resolve ongoing issues of copyright infringement,” she said. “It’s not efficient and I think there is a larger conversation to be had. But this is the world we are living in. This is the reality.”

via PC Pro