universal

Update: YouTube has officially announced Vevo. Original article 03/05: The number one video site in the US and the world's largest music label are said to be cooking up a deal and a new service. YouTube and Universal Music Group are reportedly in talks to create a premium online music video service.

Universal Music Group and instant messaging and group chat provider Meebo have partnered up to offer an interactive experience between users and musicians. If you are not familiar with Meebo, it allows users to sign in through other services like AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, and MSN Web Messenger.

One of the most interesting sessions at this upcoming Search Engine Strategies in Chicago is going to be Universal & Blended Search. Dr. Larry Cornett, VP, Consumer Products, Yahoo! Search is one of the top experts in the world on this subject and is also a panelist at this session in SES Chicago. Last week I had the opportunity to chat with Dr. Cornett to get his insight on blended search and to get a better understanding of Yahoo's future in this area.

The Allman Brothers Band has filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) for around $13 million over royalties from CDs and digital downloads.The lawsuit seeks payment for some of the Southern rock group's songs recorded for its first label Capricorn Records, from 1969 to 1980, when the band had such hits as "Melissa," "Ramblin' Man," and "Midnight Rider."

If you are a fan of classic rock then you will be glad to know that music and memorabilia site Wolfgang's Vault has struck a deal with Universal Music Group to make available vintage concert performances from artists such as The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley.The addition of the acts will join the nearly 500 recordings currently available for download purchase at the site. The recordings include live performances from thousands of concerts produced by late promoter Bill Graham, along with classics from other catalogs going back decades.

Finance junkies have probably noticed by now; even the fast-paced world of tech news is slow for people who spend all their time hitting "refresh."  Still, the existing Google Finance sites have received an overhaul, and Google Finance China has launched.

The core EveryZing business of speech to text technology added a new component, called RAMP, to its search and optimization technologies for indexing multimedia content and making it available to search crawlers.

ComScore's James Lamberti reveals the new Google truth: Universal Search means fewer paid clicks.Google's latest mission is fairly clear: Reduce the number of clicks while increasing the value of clicks remaining. At first glance it appears disastrous for marketers. Less real estate on which advertise and higher premiums on the space available equals CPC inflation.