According to Reuters, Warner Music Group has ordered YouTube to pull down all music videos by its artists, which could affect hundreds of thousands of videos. The reason? Money (what else could it be?). Apparently Warner aren't exactly impressed by the paltry return they're getting from the video site, a site they believe they helped build when they agreed to share their music video content before Google dropped billions of dollars buying them out.

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Already the format of choice for, ahem, somewhat clandestine distribution of digital video files, DivX has now officially partnered with Warner Bros. to distribute video in the format. Sony beat WB to the punch by about 9 months, and we'll have to wait even longer for Warner to come around to HD DivX, which won't be ready until September of next year. SD downloads are expected to become available this month. Full details follow.

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Rumours and logic speculated that Warner would release The Dark Knight in time for the holiday season, and the Blu-ray two-disc and collectible limited edition will indeed go on sale December 9th, the same day as the standard DVD release. The standard, two-disc edition will be Warner's first BD Live disc, and it'll pack all sorts of Baterrific extras. From HiDef Digest:

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Is this is it? The beginning of decent Blu-ray movie prices? Warner Bros. is going cut prices on a smorgasbord of Blu-ray movies for retailers in September (some as low as US$11), meaning you should see the them slide at least a couple of bucks.

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Warner, the studio that sunk HD DVD's ship as it climbed aboard Blu-ray's, will be one of the slowest to jump on BD-Live, Blu-ray's online interactive content. Its BD-Live discs will arrive around Christmastime, with features like real-time viewing (?), a search engine, library access, and a recommendation tool--all pretty boring compared to Fox's BD-Live plans, which include a multiplayer game for Alien vs. Predator. None of the titles are named yet, but hopefully they come up with something more awesome for The Dark Knight, which would be hitting around that time. [High-Def Digest]

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The end of the war is near: Hollywood insider Daily Variety has confirmed that Universal will not longer exclusively support HD DVD. Following Warner defection to Blu-ray and reports clause that opens the door for Paramount to publish Blu-ray titles too, the end of Universal's exclusivity deal may be one blow to many for HD DVD. However, Universal is not going to stop publishing movies in the latter format:

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A nice pair of reminders that much of what you see at CES is indulgent geek fantasy that might not ever street: The monster 108-inch LCD Sharp showed off at CES 2007—promised to be available this year to customers—is MIA, leading rich people to look for other obscene entertainment options to plow too much money into.

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The venerable Sub Pop label, which has put out records for everyone from Nirvana to The Shins, is trying their hand at the online music store game—and they're doing it mostly right. They have over 200 full-length albums up for sale in 192kbps MP3 for $US9.90—stuff from the aforementioned bands, Hot Hot Heat, and Sunny Day Real Estate, just to name a few. And they're already looking at ways to improve the store.

True, they're not offering single tracks yet, some of the albums can be had for cheaper on iTunes and they're 49 percent owned by Warner, one of the Big Four. But! They plan on upgrading the bitrate soon and adding album art to the packages in PDF or a similar format—right now, they have cover art embedded in the MP3s. And when they do, anyone who bought a previous version will get the updated version for free. Better still, they're actually open to feedback from customers.

Overall it sounds like a solid effort from a solid label—it sort of feels like the online version of the corner record store stacked next to Best BuyTunes. [Sub Pop via Crave]

Not only is Universal not signing multi-year contracts with Apple, it is now creating a service to confront iTunes and nurture iPod competitors like the Zune. Called Total Music, it may include Universal, Sony BMG and Warner—75% of music sold in the US—and would offer a twist on the traditional download and "PlaysForSure" subscription concepts. When you buy a Total Music-supported MP3 player, you would essentially get free all-you-can-eat music.

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Warner's Total HD discs, expected at the end of this year, will not now be making an appearance until 2008. The announcement, made yesterday by the entertainments giant, gave no reason why tills will not be jingling with Total... Read More »