YouTube has reached agreements with iTunes and Amazon.com to offer users “click-to-buy” links to download music, games and other products.
YouTube says the move is a first step to building a broader ecommerce platform for content partners and users on the site. The YouTube ecommerce platform will be rolled out on a larger scale over the coming months and will be extended to include partners in music, film, TV and publishing to generate additional revenue.
Just as YouTube users can share, favorite, comment on, and respond to videos, now they can click on products they want to purchase such as songs, books, and movies, related to the content they are watching on the site.
“YouTube content partners now have the ability to promote and monetize their content in a new and exciting way and create a deeper distribution channel for their content online,” said Chad Hurley, co-founder and CEO, YouTube.
“Our goal is to improve the overall YouTube experience by connecting consumers with relevant information and entertaining content. The addition of retail links will enhance the viewing experience and allow people to engage more deeply with the content they want to consume.”
The company says non-obtrusive retail links to buy songs from iTunes and Amazon will appear on the watch pages of video content from companies such as EMI Music. YouTube users watching music videos will be able to click on buttons that link to the corresponding pages on iTunes and Amazon MP3 where they can buy and download music.
Partners who use YouTube’s content identification and management system can enable retail links on claimed videos they choose to leave up on the site.
YouTube’s ecommerce platform initially will be available only in the United States but the company says it will expand the platform internationally in the coming months. Revenue sharing details were not disclosed.
