Vevo ( , an
abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American
multinational video hosting service, best known for providing
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...
s to
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...
. 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, however this was shut down in May 2018 to allow the service to focus on its other platforms.
The service was concluded after negotiations on June 16, 2009, as a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
among three major
record companies:
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
(UMG),
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...
(SME) and shortly before its launch by
EMI. In August 2016,
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group Corp. (trade name, d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York C ...
(WMG), the world's third-largest record company, agreed to license premium videos from its artists to Vevo.
Initially, the service hosted only
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...
s from Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment, syndicated on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...
and its app, and the advertising revenue was shared by
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
and Vevo.
Originally, Warner Music Group 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
The concept for Vevo was described as being a streaming service for music videos (similar to the
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television seri ...
streaming service for movies and TV shows after they air),
with the goal being to attract more high-end advertisers. The site's other revenue sources include a merchandise store and referral links to purchase viewed songs on
Amazon Music and
iTunes. UMG acquired the domain name vevo.com on November 20, 2008. SME reached a deal to add its content to the site in June 2009.
The site went live on December 8, 2009, and later that same month became the number one most visited music site in the United States, overtaking
Myspace Music. Upon Vevo's launch, many YouTube videos added by Vevo over the course of the year had their views inflated. In early 2013, these views were subtracted from various Vevo channels, most notably Lady Gaga's Vevo channel. The affected videos include the "
Just Dance" video, which lost more than half of its existing views. Other affected videos include "
Heartless
Heartless may refer to:
Books
* ''Heartless'' (Carriger novel), a 2011 novel in the ''New York Times'' best-selling "Parasol Protectorate" series by Gail Carriger
* ''Heartless'' (Pretty Little Liars), a 2010 novel in the "Pretty Little Liars" se ...
" and "
Toxic
Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subs ...
", whose graphs showed similar traces of inflation.
In June 2012, Vevo launched its ''Certified'' awards, which honors artists with at least 100 million video views on Vevo and its partners (including YouTube) through special features on the Vevo website.
In 2017, Vevo announced in a brief online statement the departure of
Erik Huggers
Erik Huggers is a media executive who most recently served as CEO of video hosting service Vevo. He previously worked at Microsoft, Endemol, the BBC, and at OnCue, Intel's Internet TV effort that was acquired by Verizon.
Early life and educatio ...
as the company's president and CEO and his replacement by CFO Alan Price as the interim CEO.
In April 2018, Vevo's YouTube channel was hacked by two hackers using the name of Prosox and Kuroi'SH and caused the renaming of many videos and the deletion of the most viewed YouTube video, "
Despacito" by
Luis Fonsi.
On May 24, 2018, Vevo announced that it was shutting down its consumer website and removing its app from mobile platforms, so that it could focus on YouTube syndication.
However, Vevo is still available through various apps and devices including YouTube, DVRs,
smart TVs, gaming consoles and streaming devices such as Roku.
In October 2020, it was announced that Vevo partnered with Netherlands-based music video service
Xite.
Vevo TV
On March 15, 2013, Vevo launched Vevo TV, an
Internet television
Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-ai ...
channel running 24 hours a day, featuring blocks of music videos and specials. The channel was only available to viewers in North America and Germany, with
geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
IP address blocking being used to enforce the restriction. Vevo had planned launches in other countries.
After revamping its website, Vevo TV later branched off into three separate networks: Hits, Flow (hip hop and R&B), and Nashville (country music). Vevo shut down the service during the first half of 2016 as part of a site-wide redesign.
Vevo TV ran on an automated schedule, similar to video-exclusive networks run by
Viacom Media Networks. Music videos would play twice within an hour and original programming, such as ''Top 10 Now'' and ''Vevo Lift'', would air several times per day. After rebranding in 2016, Vevo TV was slowly phased out. Vevo's mobile app continued to run the channel until they were relaunched later that year.
Availability
Vevo was available in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, the Philippines, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. The website was scheduled to go worldwide in 2010,
but as of March 23, 2018, it was still not available outside these countries. Vevo's official blog cited licensing issues for the delay in the worldwide rollout.
Most of Vevo's videos on YouTube are viewable by users in other countries, while others will produce the message "The uploader has not made this video available in your country."
The Vevo service in the United Kingdom and Ireland was launched on April 26, 2011.
On April 16, 2012, Vevo was launched in Australia and New Zealand by MCM Entertainment. On August 14, 2012, Brazil became the first Latin American country to have the service. It was expected to be launched in six more European and Latin American countries in 2012. Vevo launched in Spain, Italy, and France on November 15, 2012. Vevo launched in the Netherlands on April 3, 2013, and on May 17, 2013, also in Poland. On September 29, 2013, Vevo updated its iOS application that now includes launching in Germany. On April 30, 2014, Vevo was launched in Mexico.
Vevo is also available for a range of platforms including
Android
Android may refer to:
Science and technology
* Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human
* Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system
** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...
,
iOS,
Windows Phone,
Windows 8,
Fire OS
Fire OS is a mobile operating system based on the Android Open Source Project, it is developed by Amazon for their devices. Fire OS includes proprietary software, a customized user interface primarily centered on content consumption, and heavy ...
,
Google TV,
Apple TV,
Boxee,
Roku,
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...
,
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
, and
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
.
In May 2018, Vevo announced that it would be discontinuing its consumer website and app on mobile platforms in order to focus on YouTube syndication. However, Vevo is still available through various apps and devices including YouTube, DVRs,
smart TVs, gaming consoles and streaming devices such as Roku.
Edited content
Versions of videos on Vevo with explicit content such as
profanity
Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, ru ...
may be edited, according to a company spokesperson, "to keep everything clean for broadcast, 'the
MTV version.
This allows Vevo to make their network more friendly to advertising partners such as
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food
Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold ...
.
Vevo has stated that it does not have specific policies or a
list of words that are forbidden. Some explicit videos are provided with intact versions in addition to the edited version. There is no formal rating system in place, aside from classifying videos as explicit or non-explicit, but discussions are taking place to create a rating system that allows both users and advertisers to choose the level of profanity they are willing to accept.
24-Hour Vevo Record
The 24-Hour Vevo Record, commonly referred to as the Vevo Record, is the record for the most views a music video associated with Vevo has received within 24 hours of its release. The video that currently holds this record is
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...
's "
Me!" with 65.2 million views.
In 2012,
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accents. ...
's "
Stupid Hoe" became one of the first Vevo music videos to receive a significant amount of media attention upon its release day, during which it accumulated around 4.8 million views. The record has consistently been kept track of by Vevo ever since. Total views of a video are counted from across all of Vevo's platforms, including YouTube,
Yahoo!
Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds ma ...
and other syndication partners. On April 14, 2013,
Psy's "
Gentleman
A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...
" unofficially broke the record by reaching 38.4 million views in its first 24 hours. However, this record was not acknowledged by Vevo because it was not associated with them until four days after its release to YouTube.
On August 19, 2014, Minaj broke the record with her "
Anaconda" video which garnered 19.7 million views. Swift broke the record with "
Bad Blood" with 20.1 million views, on May 17, 2015, which was later surpassed by
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...
's "
Hello
''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses
''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the '' Norwi ...
", which received 27.7 million views in first 24 hours.
On August 28, 2017, both YouTube and Vevo records were eclipsed by Swift again, with "
Look What You Made Me Do", which gained 43.2 million views in 24 hours. On December 1, 2018,
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...
's "
Thank U, Next" broke the record, accumulating 55.4 million views in 24 hours.
Swift then regained the record on April 27, 2019, when her video for "Me!" garnered 65.2 million views in first 24 hours. Swift's channel is the first and only to break the record three times.
One Direction,
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...
,
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accents. ...
and
Miley Cyrus, have all broken the record twice (Minaj would have tied Swift if features were included in the count).
Record holders
List of Vevo videos which held the record for most views in their first 24 hours online
Vevo Certified Award
Vevo Certified Award honors artists with over 100 million views on Vevo and its partners (including YouTube) through special features on the Vevo website. It was launched in June 2012.
Artists with the most Vevo Certified videos
Top 30 artists with the most Vevo Certified music videos. All lead and co-lead appearances are counted towards the artists' total. Featured appearances are not counted.
See also
*
Music on demand
*
Digital media certification
*
List of most-viewed YouTube videos
*
List of most-viewed online videos in the first 24 hours
References
External links
Official website
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{{Universal Music Group
{{Warner Music Group
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Google services
Internet properties established in 2009
American music websites
Sony Music
Universal Music Group
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YouTube
Multi-channel networks
PlayStation 4 software