It has been reported that Vevo is planning to start a TV network that would compete specifically with MTV’s music-video network, MTV Hits. Vevo CEO stated that they will offer a mix of programming, live events and archived performances.
The reports note that Vevo has no deals in place with any cable or satellite-TV companies right now, but they are collaborating with Web-enabled TV manufacturers, set-top boxes and other devices.
The service is expected to be part of Sony’s new HDTV set that will also incorporate Google TV.
“We’re partnering with the leading manufacturers, and the people that make the boxes that go around them,” said Caraeff.
There are also a lot of plans to make Vevo more user friendly and even allow users to create their own personalise Vevo TV channels, based upon their tastes, similar to web radio service Pandora.
MTV has bounced back from the disappointment of the last few years and it is now the largest online music destination according to ComScore. The MTV Music Group had over 53 million unique visitors for August, which included sites like MTV.com, VH1.com and CMT.com combined. It’s a 165% year-over-year increase.
Vevo came in second on the list at 49.3 million, MySpace Music third at 26.3 million, AOL Music fourth at 21.9 million, and ToneFuse Media fifth at 19.1 million.
MTV says it is working on additional digital music initiatives set to launch before the end of the year, including an in-development new music site.
Remember The Buggles? Watch the video below and you will know who I mean, or at least I hope you will.
The band announced yesterday that they are going to reassemble for a one off charity show that band leader Trevor Horn, better known for his part in prog-rock band Yes and producing such acts as Seal and Robbie Williams, is describing as “the band’s first ever full live show.”
The ultimate one hit wonder band found huge international success after their single ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ launched MTV in 1979. The song went to number one in 16 different countries.
If you want to find out more about this gig and engage in some serious nostalgia, then you can visit Trevor’s website here.
The rumours are true and Universal Music Group and Google have announced their joint venture, Vevo – a video site offering UMG’s music videos, with advertising revenues shared between the two.
The full press release is below for you to digest, and naturally we’ll have more analysis next week.
UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP AND YOUTUBE TO LAUNCH REVOLUTIONARY PREMIUM MUSIC AND VIDEO SERVICE
VEVO – UMG’s Premium Music Service Powered By YouTube To Launch In Coming Months
NEW YORK, NY and SAN BRUNO, CA, April 9, 2009 – Doug Morris, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Universal Music Group (UMG), the world’s leading music company and Eric Schmidt, Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer of Google Inc., today announced that UMG and YouTube, a Google subsidiary, are working together to launch VEVO, a music and video entertainment service that will feature UMG’s premium video content.
In addition to VEVO, YouTube has renewed and extended its successful partnership with UMG that allows users to continue creating and watching user-generated videos containing UMG sound recordings and Universal Music Publishing Group’s compositions on YouTube through various territories around the world. The two companies will also share advertising revenue on YouTube and VEVO.
Launching later this year, VEVO will be a premium online music video hub built for consumers, advertisers and content owners that will blend UMG’s broad catalog of top artists and content with YouTube’s leading edge video technology and user community. YouTube will provide the technology infrastructure that will power VEVO and host UMG’s extensive library of professionally-created music videos on the new site. On YouTube, this content will be exclusively available through VEVO.com and a new VEVO channel through a special VEVO branded embedded player.
“VEVO will bring the most compelling premium music video content and services to the world’s single largest online video audience,” stated Mr. Morris. “We believe that at launch, VEVO will already have more traffic than any other music video site in the United States and in the world. And this traffic represents the most sought after demographic for advertisers, especially as advertising dollars continue their shift from old media to new. VEVO will be uniquely positioned to monetize this opportunity and a host of others as we grow it to become “the” destination for premium music video content online. For music lovers who want the best in music videos, the VEVO experience will be second to none. At the same time, VEVO will expand the premium video marketplace, generate new revenue streams for content creators, and provide brand advertisers an unprecedented opportunity to get in front of a highly engaged audience. We couldn’t be more excited about the huge potential we see in the VEVO service.”
“Technology has allowed fans to discover music in endless ways while creating new business opportunities for artists and labels alike,” said Mr. Schmidt. “At Google, we are committed to promoting greater innovation and choice and are thrilled to be working with UMG in what will surely be an exciting new service for consumers, advertisers, content creators and the music industry at large.”
At launch, people will be able to access UMG’s entire catalog of premium music video content, including professionally-created and full-length videos on VEVO, as well as artist-generated content and user-generated content hosted on YouTube. VEVO will also serve as a syndication platform, expanding the reach of the VEVO brand. This innovative platform is aimed at providing consumers the very best in digital music content while further extending UMG’s lead in the direct-to-consumer market.
Presently, UMG’s YouTube video channel has more than 3.5 billion views, making the UMG channel the most watched on YouTube.
Courtney Holt, MTV’s chief of digital music, has told friends he will accept the job as MySpace Music’s new CEO, according to a source close to Holt.
His name is not yet on the dotted line, but Holt has given a verbal commitment to MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe, said a music industry source. MySpace Music is the newly launched digital music service formed by News Corp. and the four largest recording companies. The service will sell downloads of unprotected Mp3s and offer ad-supported streaming music.
“Anything can happen when there isn’t a signature, but it looks like he’s the new CEO,” said the music industry insider.
It has been reported that Vevo is planning to start a TV network that would compete specifically with MTV’s music-video network, MTV Hits. Vevo CEO stated that they will offer a mix of programming, live events and archived performances.
