(cc) by shankar, shiv/flickr

Universal and YouTube have announced the creation of a joint music video site, apparently called 'Vevo'. After the Google subsidiary's recent trouble with music collection body PRS and their announcement that they're losing money fast this comes against an interesting backdrop.

What isn't entirely clear is what either of the parties gets out of the deal.

(cc) by shankar, shiv/flickr

There's trouble a-brewin' for online music in the UK, after YouTube decided to start pulling music videos from UK users of its site, in an escalating row with PRS, the collection society which collects and pays out fees for music usage in the UK. With YouTube claiming that PRS has hiked its fees in its negotiations for a new contract, rendering YouTube's notoriously non-profit-making offering even more anti-profitable, and the PRS claiming it's just trying to get a fair rate for music being used (very effectively it should be added) on Google's bandwidth-busting site.

Negotiations continue, so hopefully the stand-off will be resolved. In the meantime, The Guardian offers eight ways to survive without music on YouTube.