Warner Music Group ordered YouTube on Saturday to remove all music videos by its artists from the popular online video-sharing site after contract negotiations broke down.
The order could affect hundreds of thousands of video clips, Reutersreports,as it covers Warner Music's recorded artists as well as the rights for songs published by its Warner/Chappell unit, which includes many artists not signed to Warner Music record labels.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers and rapper T.I. are two of Warners biggest names.
Reuters says talks fell apart early on Saturday because Warner wants a bigger share of the huge revenue potential of YouTube's massive visitor traffic, although no details are available of Warner's demands.
Warner Music was the first major media company to negotiate a deal with YouTube in 2006. Warners executives believe that deal gave the site credibility, which was germane to Google buying YouTube shortly after for US$1.65 billion.