Like a hyperactive child before the advent of Ritalin, the internet has been annoying the hell out of the entertainment industry for almost 10 years. In 1999, the first film to harness its marketing potential, the indie horror movie The Blair Witch Project, made $250m. It cost $25,000 to make. In the same year, Napster’s launch of the first peer-to-peer download service provoked the implosion of the record industry. And in 2002, BitTorrent software allowed folk to download pirated films and TV shows at home. With YouTube’s debut in 2005, it began to seem as if all entertainment could be got for free.

The past year, however, has seen subtle counterattacks. In October, Radiohead launched their album In Rainbows from their website on a pay-what-you-think-is-fair basis.

The band refuse to release official figures, but the industry estimates 1.2m downloads at an average £5 — compared to a typical take of £2 per CD. This month, the band released the CD, which most die-hard followers also purchased. It’s a good job Radiohead are anti-globalisation, or some fans might worry they were being ripped off. . .

Earlier in 2007, Madonna left her label and signed all her recording, merchandising and live rights over to the concert promoter Live Nation for £60m. “The net is the live-concert promoter’s best friend, although it might have crippled record labels,” says Live Nation’s CEO, Michael Rapino. “The fan who is buying a $200 ticket is in our database, and we have a direct relationship to sell them a 99 cent download or a $14 T-shirt. The ticket is now the centre of the transaction.”

Meanwhile, the ad industry began using YouTube and Facebook.

The London-based Fallon agency’s ad for Sony Bravia televisions (in which coloured balls bound down a San Francisco hill) secured so many hits that if you type “advert” into google.com, it is the top entry.

Yet there is still the unhappy element of chance. YouTube adds up to 65,000 videos a day. The problem with making money in that environment is that it is so openly democratic; you cannot make your voice heard unless you are special, right? Well, no. This year, Dan Ackerman Greenberg founded The Comotion Group, which guarantees clients a minimum of 100,000 views for any video they put on YouTube. Greenberg advises on the clip — keep it short, allow others to remix it, add fake headlines, make it shocking, use naked women — then employs people to hit it, pays bloggers to discuss it, starts chats on YouTube and other sites, and generally creates a buzz.

His last client was a Hollywood studio looking for that Cloverfield sensation. Greenberg delivered 6m views on YouTube and 200+ blog posts. All six viral clips made it into the top five Most Viewed of the Day, with two making No 1 and No 2 Most Viewed of the Week. Online, at least, money can buy you love.

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