October 7, 2008 5:57 PM PDT

Click-to-buy links for songs, games added to YouTube

by Jennifer Guevin
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YouTube's click-to-buy links

A link to Amazon.com's MP3 store appears for the song used as the soundtrack for the latest "Where the hell is Matt?" video. Click image for a larger version.

(Credit: YouTube; Jennifer Guevin/CNET News)

Love that song in the latest "Where the hell is Matt?" video but have no idea what the hell it is? Wonder no more. Now YouTube will make it easier to identify songs and buy them instantly.

Google, which owns the video-sharing site, is adding "click to buy" links to thousands of video pages of YouTube partners, the company announced on its corporate blog Tuesday afternoon.

The idea is to make it easy for people to buy an MP3 or video game with the click of a mouse. The links appear just below the toolbox underneath a video, and link directly to the Amazon MP3 page or iTunes Store where people can buy the song. For video game trailers, YouTube will add links to buy the game from Amazon.

For those not interested in buying, the links will at least allow people to find out the name of an artist and title of a song playing as the soundtrack of a video they're watching.

For now, the service is only available to people in the U.S. And the only music company specifically mentioned in the announcement was EMI. But Google said this is just the beginning of a much larger project that will likely expand to include many more content partners and serve an international audience.

Jennifer Guevin is assistant managing editor of CNET News. She focuses on science and green tech. But she also makes the occasional contribution to CNET's kitchen gadgets blog or writes about the latest Web distraction. Once a week, she takes the mic as host of CNET's Daily News Podcast. E-mail Jennifer.
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by Seanathome October 7, 2008 8:08 PM PDT
Interesting... but how about having more stores. Amazon isn't the only one, you know. ;)
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by infernalman7 October 7, 2008 8:49 PM PDT
YouTube surely enjoys more money!
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by tremorfireheart October 8, 2008 11:46 AM PDT
its good that youtube has finally managed to find a way to monetize some of the traffic that it recieves. I would hate to see it go under after so many years due to lack of funds.
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by AppleSuxLeo October 8, 2008 11:57 AM PDT
Hmm...do I buy at iTunes with DRM , lower quality , and higher cost , or do I buy it at Amazon MP3 ?
Amazon of course ! http://www.amazon.com/MP3-Music-Download/b?ie=UTF8&node=163856011
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by funkyj71 October 14, 2008 3:21 PM PDT
.... and this is how Google will indirectly own the Music Industry - by owning Point of Sale distrubution. What a play! Im impressed, but it does make sense. I dont think record companies will have a choice. This is good news for Independant labels, as it is free advertising. All they need to do is product interesting videos, and watch virial magic take over.
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by BackLinks February 22, 2009 3:39 AM PST
also you can try this service to buy any links you need --->>> www.spidersmarket.com
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by jennyreviews March 27, 2009 3:36 AM PDT
This is crazy!
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