Generally, when the improperly diagnosed wake up on an autopsy table, they do so with a scream of gusto… the music industry is no different it seems. Back with a roar of “not dead yet!” the major music labels are setting their sights on making money through advertiser-supported music videos available only via a new website called Vevo.com.
Some big names are in the mix backing the launch of the site, including Universal, EMI and Sony (as well as something called the Abu Dhabi Media Company, a public joint stock company fronted by the U.A.E. who are surely hoping this is a better return on investment than the vacationland Dubai turned out to be) and the site will be offering plenty of top-quality, high-definition music videos from artists on those labels as well as EPK-styled features of musicians and behind-the-scenes/stage looks at today’s top musical performers. Of course, Google has their hands deep into this pie, since YouTube is essentially hosting all these videos… so, what’s missing from the mix? Warner Music!
The conglomerate of labels under the banner of Warner Music Group will be sitting this launch out while the music giant attempts to develop its own site centered on the same type of content. The big loser in this could actually be Viacom, whose MTV brand is no longer in the market for music videos, instead focusing on lifestyle and reality programming targeted at the teen set. Warners might come around at some point and is still in negotiations with the Vevo principals for the use of WMG’s artists and their video-oriented material, but it does leave a large gap in Vevo’s catalog of music videos and content for the moment.
The site at www.vevo.com currently links to a blog about Vevo and not much else (also appears that, though this joint venture was announced in April, it’s not on everyone’s radar… the blog looks only a few weeks old with Vevo boasting around 2,000 Facebook friends). In any case, Vevo is neato in that at least the music videos, now officially sanctioned and offered for higher quality playback, will still be free for the viewing. As an advertiser-supported site, Vevo might make the music labels a few bucks… money they’ve apparently been missing out on since MTV first launched as a promotional channel and especially since the web made music ownership a bit more democratic. Better late than never, eh?
You can find out more about Vevo.com and the launch of the site by jumping over to these links:
http://blog.vevo.com/
http://blog.vevo.com/category/behind-the-scenes/
CNET on the Vevo launch
New York Times on the Vevo launch
