Youtube has taken a step towards monetisation. The portal has decided to let partners charge users for the videos they download. The site has launched a test initiative through which partners can allow free downloading of the videos or charge for the same. It has to be paid using Google Checkout.
Most videos, during this phase, are being priced at $1. The partner is free to choose the way in which the video needs to be licensed to the user namely, restrict it to a video for private use only, or if it can be used as a part of Creative Commons. Youtube’s list of university partners, which comprises of Stanford, Duke and UC Berkeley, have been testing downloads of lectures and events for no charge at all.

Another small group of partners has been utilising the test offer like an income production and allocation device. Such an initiative will let users access the videos even when they are not connected to the Internet. Youtube is a pioneering product but it costs a lot and does not yield too much in terms of profit. It is known that Youtube is looking to earn some money through Youtube.

The search engine giant has come up with plenty of schemes for revenue generation such as, YouTubevertorials, selling search results, and ad revenues from big content partners. The only question is that will it succeed.