Monday, Warner Music Group Corp. (WMG) and Google Inc. (GOOG)'s video website YouTube are close to a deal that would return the music company's video clips to You Tube after a nine-month licensing dispute, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Citing a person with knowledge of the discussions, reports said that the agreement, which may be announced as early as this week, would allow Warner to retain the right to sell ads that run next to videos of its artists and keep a majority of the revenue. The person reportedly declined to be identified because the discussions are private.
The deal is expected to address one of the music company's biggest complaints about Google Inc.'s video-sharing site YouTube: that the ads that currently run on the site do not generate sufficient revenue for Warner.
Warner is reportedly hiring third parties to sell the ads and line up more lucrative arrangements like sponsorships for particular videos or artists.
In December Warner Music chairman and chief executive Edgar Bronchial pulled all of its music from YouTube, when the two sides failed to reach a licensing agreement.
With the deal, videos from Warner artists may begin returning to Mountain View, California-based Google's YouTube by the end of the year, the person said. Warner Music artists include Metallica and Rob Thomas.
With the potential deal, YouTube is turning to a formula it has used to resolve a number of recent disputes with content owners who want more money from distributing their content on the video site.
YouTube earlier this year entered into an advertising-based content partnership with Walt Disney Co.(DIS), which is distributing clips of ABC and ESPN shows on the site.
The Warner deal closely resembles the agreement You Tube reached in March with Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group, the world's largest recorded music company by sales and market share.
According to reports, one major difference is that the deal with Warner wouldn't create a freestanding Web site. Instead, music videos would remain on the YouTube.com Web site, the world's most prominent online video destination.
Universal is planning to create a freestanding Web site for music videos, called Vevo, for which it hopes to license videos from other music companies. Sony Corp.'s Sony Music Entertainment joined the plan in June. So far the other major music companies, Warner and EMI Group Ltd, have not signed on.
WMG declined $0.17 or 3.19% and closed Monday's regular trading at $5.16. GOOG rose GOOG rose $6.05 or 1.23% and closed at $498.53. After hours, GOOG rose further $0.52 or 0.10% and traded at $499.05.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.