Music, Online Video | featured news

Viral videos are hits on the Web, and now they can help propel a song to the top of the Billboard charts. Billboard has announced that U.S. YouTube data is now one of the factors when ranking Hot 100 songs and songs on its other charts.

With prince of invisible equestrian sports and YouTube page views (Psy), now semi-disgraced, the Internet has decided to anoint its next silly video star.

Only about a third of those "Gangnam Style" plays, 438 million, have been of the original video.

Kansas State University student Greg Peterson and some friends were unwinding at a drive-in restaurant when LMFAO's song "Sexy and I Know It" came on the radio. But as the chorus droned on, the 21-year-old found inspiration. He switched "sexy" to "farming" as he began rapping. Then he started coming up with lyrics. It would be fun, he thought, to do a video parody with his brothers when he returned home to the family farm in central Kansas.

Web analytics companies predicted Lady Gaga's victory over Justin Bieber weeks ago.

Many worry that Silicon Valley will upend the entertainment industry just like the Internet ravaged the music and newspaper industries. Google revolutionized the way people access information. Now it wants to transform how people get entertainment.

'Baby' versus 'Bad Romance.'
Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber have beef. The two pop stars are currently duking it out on the internet, with tween king Justin Bieber recently usurping the crown for most-watched YouTube video from Lady Gaga.

As a joint venture between Disney, Fox and NBC Universal, Hulu is best known for its free and extensive library of TV shows and movies.

Warner Music Group has completed a deal with YouTube that will bring back music videos for Green Day, U2, Madonna and other artists to the video-sharing site from which they were removed in December, according to two executives familiar with the talks.

Warner has also commenced talks with Vevo, the "Hulu for music" joint venture between YouTube and Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainments.

A 47-year-old British charity worker who says she has never been kissed has become a YouTube sensation after singing in front of Simon Cowell.