Mumbai: Youku and Universal Music launched an online competition titled "Super Star Super Search 2009" on 6 October. Their aim is to help Universal Music to find outstanding young Chinese musicians to form the label’s newest rock band.

Youku is a Beijing-based video-sharing website with more than 45 million unique visitors watching and uploading video clips every week. In August 2008, Youku’s booming user base made it the seventh biggest destination website in China, based on a report from Nielsen/NetRatings.

"This is the very first time that a major record label is cooperating with an Internet video website to expand its artist pool in China," said Youku founder and CEO Victor Koo. "This joint initiative shows how Internet video has gone mainstream. A new generation of video-centric websites is going to eclipse the portals."

From 6 October, 2008 to 10 January, 2009, Internet users can upload video clips of their performances on Youku, while a series of offline competitions will be held in North America. Youku’s visitors and a professional committee organized by Universal Music will vote for their favorite video clips at the same time. Meanwhile, Universal Music will mobilize its resources in Chinese art schools for this competition.

"We’re reconsidering our relation with new media platforms like Youku," said Caralinda Booth, Artist and Repertoire Consultant of Universal Music, "In the old days, we defined new media as a potential business. But today, Universal Music considers it as a new bridge directly connected to our future stars that will broaden our landscape."

Fun Magazine, a Chinese magazine dedicated to youth art, and Pilot Records, an independent record label based in Beijing, are partners of "Super Star Super Search 2009".