BEIJING, June 1(Xinhuanet) -- YouTube, Google's subsidiary video sharing website, has agreed to a deal with the EMI Group to give YouTube users broad access to music videos by EMI artists, media reported Friday.

    The companies said Thursday that YouTube users "now have unprecedented access to authorized videos and recordings from EMI Music artists, including those featured in user generated content" -- although some artists, such as the Beatles, will be precluded from inclusion in the deal, as is still the case with iTunes

    "With this deal, all four of the world's major music companies are now official YouTube partners. EMI is a proven leader in the emerging digital music landscape and one of the world's largest and most respected music companies. We're excited to add EMI Music's stellar roster of artists' content to our site and make it available to our community." said Chad Hurley, CEO and Co-founder of YouTube.

    EMI Music, a unit of EMI Group PLC, will receive a cut of revenue from ads shown on YouTube when EMI content is being viewed, said Chris Maxcy, head of business development for YouTube.

    "Through this agreement EMI Music and its artists will be fairly compensated for their work," EMI chief executive Eric Nicoli said in a statement.

    Previous deals struck by the company with other record labels and TV networks have also included ad revenue-sharing.

    Last year, the Warner Music Group, the Universal Music Group and Sony BMG Entertainment each signed content deals with YouTube.

¡¡    (Agencies)