MUZU this week launched a new jukebox service which makes it easier to navigate, playlist and play music from the video service's vast catalogue. In particular, the new service recommends videos based around your initial artist choice (in a Pandora stylee), and then allows users to search the MUZU catalogue and add tracks to their playlist while concurrently enjoying the recommended vids, and all within one browser window. I've only had a little play, but it looks kinda cool, and I intend to have a proper delve this weekend.

The service is a bit like a "video version of Spotify", though it is worth noting that, although free to use, no ads will play in the mix on the jukebox service. The MUZU release launching the new service notes: "While MUZU.TV is an advertising-funded free music website, it has been careful to leverage more innovative ad formats such as 'skinning' the outside of the video player with premium entertainment-related advertisement, which don't interrupt the viewing experience in any way".

Elsewhere at CES, MUZU have announced a new UK partnership with Samsung which will see the music video providers stream content onto the electronics giant's new internet enabled tellies. The Samsung devices will use a specially adapted version of the MUZU player, which will access all the video content that is already available via their web-based platform.

Confirming the partnership, MUZU CEO Ciaran Bollard told CMU: "We're excited about bringing MUZU.TV into millions of living rooms across the UK via the incredibly innovative Samsung 2010 range of TVs and Blu-ray players. MUZU.TV has amassed one of the largest legal music video libraries on the web, so music lovers won't be left wanting regardless of what genres they're into. We think people are going to be very impressed by the fantastic quality of the videos, and we look forward to powering the music for many late night parties -- just as long as we're invited to one or two of them!"

Rob Shaw, General Manager CTV & HP at Samsung, added: "The new MUZU.TV application is a great example of how the Internet@TV service can really enhance Samsung technology. The way consumers are using the internet in their living room is constantly changing and we believe the combination of great applications like MUZU.TV and Samsung technology are leading the way in modern home entertainment".

MUZU has announced a deal with the O2 Dome which will see the music video platform power a video service on the London venue's website, featuring music videos from artists due to play at the complex.

Confirming the new deal, MUZU CEO Ciaran Bollard told CMU: "We're very excited about working with The O2 and look forward to a very successful relationship. We believe MUZU.TV's syndication model is the perfect music video solution for publishers, festivals and venues. Not only can they enhance their online strategy and engage festival and concert goers all round with high-quality, fully license-cleared music videos, but they can also potentially generate new revenue streams by allowing us to monetise their own video content, as well as leveraging the proposition with their current brand relationships".

The O2 Head Of Marketing Becky Grote added: "MUZU are unique in this market having built relationships with the major music labels. This is an ultimate value add for us as we have access to approved content for artists who have been, or will appear, at The O2. We are thrilled to be entering into this relationship".

At last the world has seen sense and voted Madonna's 'Hung Up' video the least sexy music video of all time in a poll conducted by music video site MUZU. Sexiest is, apparently, Britney's 'Toxic'.

Here are the charts!

Top Ten Most Sexy Videos
1. Britney - Toxic
2. Shakira - She Wolf
3. JLS - Beat Again
4. Girls Aloud - Untouchable
5. Kylie - Spinning Around
6. Rihanna - Umbrella
7. Ciara - Love, Sex And Magic (feat. Justin Timberlake)
8. Take That - Pray
9. Beyonce - Single Ladies
10. Robert Palmer - Addicted To Love

Ten Least Sexy Music Videos
1. Madonna - Hung up
2. Lady Ga Ga - Poker Face
3. Spice Girls - Wannabe
4. Pink - Get the Party Started
5. Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up
6. Michael Jackson - You Are Not Alone
7. Take That - Do What You Like
8. Billy Ray Cyrus - Achy Breaky Heart
9. Wham! - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
10. David Hasslehoff - Jump In My Car

Music video platform MUZU have announced a deal with indie label digital rights body Merlin. It's quite a big deal because it's the first video licensing deal Merlin has signed. It means videos from a string of Merlin represented indie labels not currently available via MUZU now will be. The video service will also help indies digitise their video content as part of the deal.

Confirming the Merlin tie up, MUZU CEO Ciaran Bollard told reporters: "The deal with Merlin is hugely significant and firmly establishes our leadership position in the market as the only music video service to have deals with all four majors and Merlin. MUZU users will benefit greatly by getting free access to one of, if not the largest, official music video libraries online".

Merlin chief Charles Caldas added: "We chose to work with MUZU as they have recognised the significant value of Merlin's offering and have provided our labels with a compelling way to monetise the use of their videos online. We believe this is an exciting proposition for consumers and the industry at large and are excited about the commercial potential it offers Merlin's member labels and their artist rosters. The holistic artist-focused approach that MUZU has taken is already resonating well with fans and brands alike and we look forward to a great relationship going forward".

MUZU, of course, powers the CMU-Tube service - and don't forget you'll find a Camp Bestival selection of videos on the CMU-Tube this week - www.thecmuwebsite.com/tube.

Music video website MUZU yesterday announced it had secured a licensing deal with Warner Music, meaning the music-specific video service now has all four major record companies on board which, with YouTube still premium-video-less given its ongoing licensing squabbles with both PRS For Music and Warner, is pretty damn exciting if you ask me.

As previously reported, music videos can be accessed on-demand via the MUZU.TV website, plus users can set up their own 'channels' and playlist the videos they like to watch. Those channels can then be accessed by a user's friends via their own MUZU channel, or by the user embedding their bespoke version of the MUZU player onto their own websites or social network profiles.

Labels, artists and media are also encouraged to set up their own channels and upload their own content, earning a share of advertising revenue whenever their original content is viewed, whether that is done so via their own channel, the central MUZU website, or if and when other users playlist their content onto their own personal players.

Confirming the licensing deal with Warner, MUZU CEO Ciaran Bollard told CMU: "This is great coup for MUZU users given we are one of the only video services to have deals with all four majors and strong support and representation from the independent sector. Warner has really embraced MUZU and truly recognises that a partnership is more than a license and will be working closely with us to co-market and syndicate the artist video content to drive new revenue opportunities".

Warner's Business Development Director, Noel Penzer, added: "The fact that music videos engage a huge, diverse and passionate online audience, covering a wide range of tastes and behaviour, makes a video platform built around music an attractive proposition to artists, labels, fans and brands alike. A highly flexible and easy-to-use site, MUZU is a first-class music experience which puts the relationship between fan and artist at its core. It enables people to interact with music content whilst ensuring that artists and their music companies share in the value created".

Video streaming website and CMU-Tube enabler MUZU TV has announced that it has signed a deal with Universal, meaning it now has deals with three of the four majors in place (Warner are still being killjoys).

That means they now have access to the same amount of premium music video content that YouTube did before their much publicised dispute with PRS For Music which led to a lot of that content being blocked, of course. And while YouTube's owners Google continue to argue PRS's royalty demands are just too high to make their business work, MUZU make much of the fact that their business model accommodates the collecting society's rates, by separating premium from user generated content which, they say, makes their product more attractive to advertisers who foot the royalty bill.

Taking a further step towards becoming the music video streamer of choice, MUZU has also announced that it is now powering all of Sony Music's video content on Bebo and is also the official partner on Michael Jackson's UK & Ireland website.

Google are generally very cagey about which of their services make money and which of their services haemorrhage it, though it's no secret YouTube, one of the web firm's most costly purchases to date, is some way off making money.

And that is one of the reasons why Google bosses aren't that keen to pay song royalty societies PRS For Music and GEMA any more money for the rights to include their members' songs on the video site - they haven't said it, but you sense what they are implying is "we're losing money paying you the nominal rates you're getting now, and you want more?"

As an indicator of Google's YouTube challenge, we have comments made late last week by Credit Suise analyst Spence Wang in a note to investors, in which he predicted that the web firm's video service will make a loss of about $470 million this year, because the cost of delivering the content, not to mention the royalties it has already committed to pay to the record companies and publishers and the like, are no where near covered by ad revenues.

Wang reckons only 3% of possible ad spots on YouTube are sold, and that rates are horribly low, making the whole video venture a real loss leader, despite its huge success in terms of traffic. It all suggests, as I think we've suggested previously, that Google's business model works when it comes to providing relatively low-cost ad-funded web services like search, email and document sharing, but when you apply it to a more expensive video-on-demand platform, especially if you start to factor in content costs, the pennies per click model doesn't add up the same. Especially if video viewers turn out to be less likely to click than search engine and web mail users, which generally they do.

Of course the fact that Google, despite being a billion dollar concern, is losing millions on YouTube could be used as an argument as to why PRS For Music and GEMA should be willing to be more flexible, and a bit more bargain basement, than they seem to be. Though that assumes that there is no other business model out there that can make a YouTube-style service work. If there is - and I think there might be - then a faltering YouTube doesn't necessarily have to play into the hands of the video site's illegal competitors, and Google can just quietly write YouTube off as a mis-adventure.

Though until such a business model is found and proven - and there are already contenders out there, MUZU maybe, and perhaps the seemingly optimistic Ek and his Spotify - these will remain shaky times as artists, songwriters, collecting societies and (some) labels stand there ground and demand a bigger share of what might be non-existent cash.