Can you teach a record label new tricks? Maybe so. The cross promotion Warner Bros has undertaken with YouTube is a good example of a company showing flexibility and adaptibility in marketing. The label launched a Paris Hilton channel (on right side of screen shot above) that coincides with the release of Hilton's debut album, Paris. The channel (click here to view) carries is sponsored by the Fox television show "Prison Break." Rather than fight each other, YouTube and the industry are engaging one another. Next step for labels: Negotiating for a share of the ad revenue.

But is the channel concept connecting? One has to wonder. Many other videos on the Paris channel -- which are mostly "making the video" and "in the studio" shorts -- have been viewed far less times than the main video. At the time of writing, the "Hey YouTube! xoxo Paris" video had been viewed 252,175 times. In contrast, the "Stars Are Blind' - Making the Video Part 1" video had been viewed 997 times. It's clear viewers aren't hanging around for more.

Will this amount to anything? Or will it suffer from the "Snakes on Planes" effect, which should be the new term for a media event that is overshadowed by the media event's marketing. "Snakes on Planes" had considerable online hype prior to its release but managed only $15.3 million in its first week -- good enough to be the top movie in the country, but far below expectations since the marketing itself was a pop culture phenomenon.

Another unresolved question: What's the real, quantifiable impact of online videos? Is one million YouTube views worth much for a celebrity who gets one million impressions on a slow day? Stated another way, will one million views have a material effect on demand for her music? There are only best guesses. The technology is too young to offer a clue. (On Tuesday evening, the album's Amazon.com sales rank is #34 and the iTunes rank is #10.)