In Other YouTube News: Song Purchasing Links Upgraded

YouTube is now enhancing its integrated buy links for music, a move that could bump digital sales for participating labels.  The upgrade, first announced by YouTube last week, overlays buy links for both iTunes and AmazonMP3 onto music videos – as well as videos that feature music from a partner label.  The background music is identified by YouTube through its ContentID mechanism, pursuant to label agreements.

The translucent overlay rises from the bottom of the screen, a non-intrusive method that starts after ten seconds, and eventually disappears.  Alternatively, the overlay is also used by YouTube advertisers – for example, Volvo and Carnival Cruise Lines.

The upgrade replaces a system that positioned links within the surrounding page.  Under the new plan, the links are almost impossible to miss – on both YouTube and embedded widgets.  “This increased visibility should help even more people take advantage of this program,” the YouTube post stated.

A fair amount of music lacks any ‘buy now’ integration, suggesting a gradual and continued rollout.  Just recently, YouTube started expanding its ecommerce initiative beyond the US and Britain, and into Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands.  Additionally, content from Warner Music Group is missing the opportunity, either because the audio track or entire music video has been removed.