As Clear Channel continues their restructuring to attack/absorb online popularity of music channels and dumb them down, record labels like Warner and Universal are still playing it safe by going with the big money over fans/talent.

From Reuters story on Friday:

Clear Channel Communications Inc., the top U.S. radio conglomerate, on Friday said it planned to begin testing a free, music video-on-demand service next Tuesday as part of a strategy to bolster its Internet presence.

Between 2,000 to 3,000 music videos from top artists at Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group will be featured on some of its radio station Web sites.

It’s free for now with advertiser support, but you can smell the payola already. Great, more Nickelback and Blink 182 content. Thanks Clear Channel!

And from the LA Times on Saturday, here’s the typical KISS-patterned sneaky part:

As Clear Channel rolls out the program in Los Angeles and four other markets, it has a secret weapon: its local stations, which it will use to drive users not to one central Clear Channel website but to hundreds of branded sites bearing the call letters that music fans already know.

For example, Clear Channel’s Top 40 station KIIS-FM (102.7) in Los Angeles will make videos available on http://www.kiis.com….[it goes on to say]

Clear Channel’s decision to offer videos signals the arrival of a competitor with a thirst for dominance that analysts say has upended the radio industry. And they are willing to pay for it.

Still seems like underhanded, non-transparent, evil corporate practices to me. As on-demand listening and downloadable content become a staple of the music industry, record labels still don’t get it. And as a result, musicians and their fans are still being hurt by Clear Channel.