

YouTube announced Thursday that it will soon allow downloads of author-approved videos with the option of charging a small fee, creating a new revenue stream for online filmmakers in addition to current ad-share agreements.

Video owners will also be able to choose Creative Commons rights associated with a videos similar to Flickr, allowing downloads to be remixed or require a credit to the author.

You must first sign up as a partner with YouTube to participate in the program and sign an additional agreement. Working strictly with partners likely prevents copyright infringement by users who are not verified.

The new feature is currently being tested through several universities including Stanford, Duke and UC Berkeley which are offering content for free and a few other partners who are charging for downloads.

All transactions will take place using Google Checkout, and a new tab has been added in a user’s account to keep track of purchases.

This sounds great in theory, but there are a few problems that will have to be dealt with as YouTube becomes more open.

For the initial launch, files will be downloaded in mp4 format and not DRM-protected, so there is the potential for abuse and file sharing. And there are multiple programs out there which already facilitate downloads of YouTube videos for free by simply providing a link like Vixy or KeepVid.

"Here's an idea. Make it so that the pay-for-download video is of a higher quality than what you can see online. That would make it more monetarily viable to implement," suggests one user on YouTube's blog.

One big presence on YouTube that might benefit from downloads is the music industry, who already receive a share of ad-revenue but have lately been looking for more cash.

Warner Music in particular has been hoping to bank more from YouTube streams. It requested that YouTube remove its videos in December and many others were also muted by Google in January. Paid downloads (if done right) could be part of the answer, but all four major record labels have reportedly been plotting their own premium section of YouTube or stand-alone Hulu-style music video service.