No, it’s not an annoying repetitive ad…of course not. It can’t be an error on the video editor’s part either. Then what exactly is VEVO? It keeps appearing on every music video I open on YouTube.
Entertainment over the years has spurned from various sources. From ancient dramas on stage to operas; down to modern times filmmaking, songs and why not make music more interesting? And now, welcome to the world of music videos; you don’t get to just listen to the music, it is presented to you through the eye of the artist. Presented how? Through various platforms like television channels, social media applications and so on.
YouTube as a platform is an online site for videos, contents and also a social media platform. Videos uploaded on different individual channels are easily accessible by the users of the app. However, there has been criticism as regard copyright issues as some videos are uploaded without the authorization of the owner of such content. There are instances where videos are taken down on YouTube as regard copyright infringement issues. In a bid to curb the violation of the rights on music videos, Vevo comes into play.
Vevo stands for video evolution. It is a joint innovation of record labels: Universal Music Group, Sony BMG and Warner Bros. For the record, Record labels are companies that are involved in the production and distribution of recordings by musician. They help to promote the work of the artist by investing into them and in return earn profit. These record labels started Vevo as a way to distribute the music videos they had rights to. It was to act as premium streaming service for music videos, in a much similar way to how we have streaming services for movies/shows and music.
Vevo later entered into an agreement with Google allowing it to host their videos on YouTube as they split the profit. This arrangement sums up the reason you’ll find VEVO plastered on some of the most popular music videos on YouTube. While its YouTube videos are probably most responsible for the fame of the brand, you can also find Vevo content on platforms such as Apple TV, Roku, Pluto TV, and Samsung Tv Plus. Over time, the Vevo brand has come to be strongly associated with authenticity in relation to music videos. When you search for a particular music video on a platform like YouTube, the video with the ‘VEVO’ badge will immediately stand out as the official release.
Notably, Vevo is not the singular player in this niche. If you watch enough music videos, you have probably also noticed the ‘W’ badge on some videos as opposed to Vevo (See Burna Boy – Monsters You Made). This badge is a symbol of Warner Music Group (WMG), one of the big three record labels alongside Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and Universal Music Group (UMG). While the other two are the primary stakeholders in Vevo, WMG distributes its videos independently of the music streaming service, which brings about the use of the ‘W’ badge. It is perhaps worth noting that, in 2016, WMG licensed its music video catalog to Vevo.
The goal of Vevo is to dominate the music network thereby connecting a global audience to high quality and authentic video content. The existence of Vevo has helped record labels, and artistes by extension, exploit their rights to music videos exhaustively. Simultaneously, Vevo ensures that the larger audience has direct and easy access to official videos.
The Research Team.
Very enlightening!