Vevo launches as a label-backed music-video streaming service
Vevo launched on December 8, 2009 as a music-video service backed by Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Abu Dhabi Media, with YouTube providing key hosting infrastructure. The venture sought to combine the scale of online video with a premium, rights-holder-controlled music environment.
Исторический контекст
Official music videos were enormously popular online, but record labels were still searching for stronger advertising economics and more control over presentation than general-purpose video sites provided. Hulu had already illustrated how rights owners could cooperate on a premium online-video destination.
Что произошло
Vevo arrived with tens of thousands of official music videos and related programs. Although it had its own branded destination, YouTube hosted the underlying video files and served as a major syndication partner, creating a hybrid relationship between record labels and an internet platform.
Последствия
Vevo consolidated large amounts of official label video into a recognizable streaming brand while remaining deeply dependent on YouTube's technology and reach. It became an important example of traditional media rights holders building branded businesses on top of major internet-platform infrastructure.