YouTube, Warner part ways

YouTube and Warner Music Group are getting a divorce in a split which illustrates some of the difficult issues facing the recording industry in the digital era.

As album sales decline and online piracy bites into their profits, major record labels have been forging new arrangements such as deals with MySpace, Apple's iTunes and Google's YouTube to generate new revenue streams.

But YouTube and Warner, home to Eric Clapton, Madonna, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day and other music royalty, said over the weekend that they were ending their two-year partnership.