Google continues its scramble to make YouTube legal through licensing deals with record labels and film studios. Licensing has already been negotiated with Warner Music, universal Music and Sony BMG. A combination of carrots are being offered, including up front and ongoing payments, Google stock, and ad revenue sharing.

The cost will likely hit hundreds of millions of dollars a year. That's a lot of money. On the other hand it's a small portion of the $1.6 billion shelled out to buy YouTube. Google certainly expected such costs and has the money to pay for it.