What actually happened to VEVO?

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In today's episode of video essays about music industry, we're gonna talk about How VEVO Lost One Billion Dollars Trying To Beat YouTube.

Vevo LLC (/ˈviːvoʊ/ VEE-voh, an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, digital video recorders, digital media players, and streaming television services. The service once offered a consumer mobile and tablet app; this was shut down in May 2018 to allow the service to focus on its other platforms.

The service was launched on June 16, 2009, as a joint venture among three major record companies: Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainment (SME), and EMI. In August 2016, Warner Music Group (WMG), the world's third-largest record company, agreed to license premium videos from its artists to Vevo.

Initially, the service hosted only music videos from UMG and SME, syndicated on YouTube and its app, and the advertising revenue was shared by Google and Vevo. Originally, WMG was reported to be considering hosting its content on the service after it launched, but formed an alliance with rival MTV Networks (now Paramount Media Networks). In August 2015, Vevo expressed renewed interest in licensing music from WMG and a deal with WMG was completed on August 2, 2016, making again the entirety of the "big three" record companies' music available on Vevo.

History

Vevo's original wordmark, used from December 2009 until March 2013

Vevo's second logo, used from March 2013 until July 2016
The concept for Vevo was described as being a streaming service for music videos, similar to Hulu's streaming service for movies and TV shows after they air. The primary goal was to attract high-end advertisers by offering a premium platform for music videos. Vevo's revenue sources were diverse, including advertisements, a merchandise store, and referral links to purchase viewed songs on Amazon Music and iTunes. On November 20, 2008, UMG acquired the domain name vevo.com, and by June 2009, SME reached a deal to add its content to the site. Vevo officially launched on December 8, 2009, and quickly became the most visited music site in the United States, surpassing Myspace Music.

Despite its early success, Vevo faced significant challenges. In early 2013, many YouTube videos added by Vevo had their views inflated, and these inflated views were later subtracted, affecting various Vevo channels, including Lady Gaga's. Notable videos affected by this included "Just Dance," which lost more than half of its existing views, as well as "Heartless" and "Toxic." The inflation and subsequent correction of view counts raised questions about the accuracy of Vevo's metrics.

In June 2012, Vevo launched its Certified awards to honor artists whose videos achieved at least 100 million views on Vevo and its partners, including YouTube. These awards highlighted the popularity of Vevo's platform and its influence in the music industry. In 2017, Vevo saw a leadership change when CEO Erik Huggers departed, and CFO Alan Price took over as interim CEO.

#music #vevo #popculture #drama #downfall