Financial Times has a story about Warner Music punked Universal Music Group by signing a licensing deal with YouTube days before UMG filed an infringement lawsuit against YouTube. Had the lawsuit been filed, YouTube may not have been acquired by Google.

"Fortunately for YouTube, another music company came to the rescue. Warner Music, led by its young digital chief, Alex Zubillaga, swept in days before the suit was to be filed and clinched a deal with YouTube to distribute its music videos on the site in exchange for a licensing fee and a share of advertising. In so doing, Warner upstaged a rival, and appears to have given YouTube breathing room to become legitimate."

Don't look now, but WMG may have helped shape the near future of online media. Since WMG is signing a deal with everybody, its effectively marking its territory and encouraging its competitors to join in the deal-making. At the same time, this maneuvering shows how the majors differ in their digital strategies.

Not all media companies are lining up to sign with YouTube. Bob Wright, chairman of NBC Universal, underscored the importance of copyright to the company's future. Viacom has an agreement with Google but not with YouTube, and last week the media company ordered YouTube to pull clips of Jon Stewart.