By Michael Liedtke, Technology Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --Online video leader YouTube has opened up its version of a home shopping network in its latest effort to wring more revenue from its massive audience and justify the $1.76 billion that Google Inc. paid for the site two years ago. In the new service, unveiled Tuesday in the United States, there will be buttons under YouTube videos to offer viewers a chance to buy music, movies, TV shows, concert tickets and other products featured or mentioned in a particular clip.
When one of the links is clicked, the YouTube viewer is taken to another Web site like Amazon.com or iTunes that’s selling a desired song or other product. YouTube will receive a commission for each completed sale.
For starters, YouTube is selling songs only from two major labels, EMI Music and Universal Music Group, and video games made by Electronic Arts Inc. But it hopes to persuade studios to peddle movies and TV shows alongside video clips.
Eventuall y, YouTube wants to expand beyond entertainment sales to create a shopping bazaar. For instance, a home-care how-to clip on YouTube might include a sales button for a lawn mower.
“This is just the first step in this adventure,” said Shishir Mehrotra, YouTube’s director of product management.
YouTube plans to expand the sales channel outside the United States, but didn’t specify a timetable for the international expansion.
The “click-to-buy” links are part of YouTube’s intensifying focus on figuring out how to profit from its popularity without alienating an audience accustomed to watching clips without the commercial interruptions that fill television airwaves. YouTube also has had to navigate thorny copyright issues that have restricted its ability to show ads.
YouTube has only had moderate success with ads so far, mostly with short commercials that appear in a small frame underneath the main video. Its revenue this year is expected to hover around $ 200 million – an amount that has been somewhat disappointing to industry analysts, given that the site attracts nearly 100 million people each month in the United States alone.
Google has been patient with YouTube, telling its shareholders that it’s more important to nurture the video site’s audience than to fret about financial targets.
YouTube has succeeded on that front. In July, the site served up about 5 billion videos in the United States, according to the latest data from comScore Inc. That was 10 times more than the runner-up, News Corp.’s Fox Interactive Media, a group that includes the online hangout MySpace, which also has started to sell songs in a joint venture with major record labels.
Google hasn’t felt pressured to reap a quick return from YouTube because its main business of selling text-based ads alongside search results and other Web content is thriving, with revenue expected to surpass $20 billion this year.
Still, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt has been promising YouTube will become a huge moneymaker once it finds the right advertising formula. He has gone as far as to suggest the perfect commercial approach at YouTube is “the holy grail.”
Besides introducing a platform for e-commerce, YouTube also formally announced a new player, called “Theater View,” for watching full-length videos. The new player, which began appearing on YouTube last month, looks more like a small movie screen with stage curtains on the sides. It can even be dimmed to simulate a movie theater.
Oscar and Emmy-Winning Composer Kris Bowers Joins Barking Owl For Advertising, Branded Content
Music, audio post and sonic branding house Barking Owl has taken on exclusive representation of Oscar and Emmy-winning composer Kris Bowers for advertising and branded content.
Bowers’ recent film scores include The Wild Robot and Bob Marley: One Love, alongside acclaimed past works such as The Color Purple (2023), King Richard and Green Book. His contributions to television are equally impressive, with scores for hit series like Bridgerton, When They See Us, Dear White People, and his Daytime Emmy Award-winning score for The Snowy Day.
In addition to his work as a composer, Bowers is a visionary director. He recently took home the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject for his directorial work on The Last Repair Shop. The emotionally touching short film spotlights four of the people responsible for repairing the musical instruments used by students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The Last Repair Shop reflects the positive influence that musical instruments have on the youngsters who play them, and the adults in the LAUSD free repair service who keep them working and in tune.
Barking Owl CEO Kirkland Alexander Lynch said of Bowers, “His artistry, diversity of style and depth of storytelling bring an unparalleled edge to the work we create for global brands. His presence on our roster reflects our continued commitment to pushing the boundaries of sound and music in advertising.”
Johanna Cranitch, creative director, Barking Owl, added, “Kris first caught my attention when he released his record ‘Heroes + Misfits’ where he fused together his jazz sensibility with a deeply ingrained aptitude for melody, so beautifully.... Read More