Warner Music logs-on to YouTube

Partnership with Warner will offer videos, interviews and behind-the-scenes footage

Social media website YouTube has signed its first commercial partnership to show music videos from the Warner Music Group. 

Warner Music represents artists such as Gnarls Barkley, REM, Paul Simon, Phil Collins and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and the deal could see official videos, interviews and behind-the-scenes footage played on YouTube. 

The partnership could also see YouTube users mixing Warner's copyrighted songs into their own uploaded videos without any complaint from the trademark holder.

The two parties have been hammering out the deal for the past four months and finally agreed terms this weekend.

Warner Music and YouTube will share the advertising profits generated by the online content, using an advanced content identification and royalty system that will be in place by the end of the year.

Warner Music had previously sponsored the launch of the Paris Hilton album on the YouTube website. 

Warner Music's partner company Warner Bros has recently signed up to provide iTunes users with television downloads, as all the major music and film labels try to get a slice of the online market.