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MUMBAI:
Universal Music Group (UMG) and Last.fm, the free global music
Web site, have announced a new partnership that will make
UMG's music video catalogue available for free-on-demand streaming
to users of Last.fm.
The deal, which marks Last.fm's first major video partnership,
will bring thousands of high-quality music videos to the Last.fm
community. As part of this agreement, Universal Music and
its artists will receive revenue for every UMG video streamed.
Last.fm
users can view thousands of full-length music videos from
UMG's catalogue of chart-topping artists, which includes Jay-Z,
Nirvana, Amy Winehouse, The Killers, Duffy, Snow Patrol and
Kanye West, among many others. The latest UMG videos can be
found on Last.fm at http://www.last.fm/music/+charts/video.
The
addition of UMG content provides a massive boost to Last.fm's
online music video offering which launched last year. Additionally,
Last.fm's scrobbling technology will help users engage with
the UMG content in a more personalised manner by recommending
new videos according to users' individual music taste.
Last.fm
co-founder Martin Stiksel said, "This is a hugely empowering
partnership that really takes Last.fm to the next level. We
want to offer a video library that rivals our unparalleled
music catalogue, as we work towards Last.fm becoming the only
place you need to go to for all music-related content, and
this deal marks the first step towards that goal. Universal
Music has the richest and most extensive music video collection
in the world, and the addition of that content to Last.fm
brings us closer to being able to offer the most rewarding
personalised music video experience for music fans anywhere."
UMG
International senior VP, digital Rob Wells says, "Our
relationship with Last.fm is evolving. The use of Universal
Music videos on the Last.fm platform is a great opportunity
for both consumers and artists, with the latter earning revenues
from every video played on the service. Video streaming services
are an increasingly important source of income, and it's great
to have another new partner on board, tapping into this rich
revenue stream."
The
Universal video content will be ad-supported in the same manner
as Last.fm's pioneering free-on-demand service which launched
in January. As part of the FOD offering, artists, labels and
copyright holders receive a share of revenue from the ads
displayed next to their content. In its first month offering
UMG videos, Last.fm will be marking the partnership by highlighting
the Universal video catalogue exclusively on the site.
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