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Can Newcomer Vevo Attract Music Video Fans?

by JP Mangalindan on December 10, 2009 at 02:32 PM

With Vevo, music bigwigs like Sony, Universal, and EMI Music are hanging their hopes on the idea that users more accustomed to getting their music videos off the Web than from the tube will make their profit-oriented site a success.

On Tuesday, the Google-operated video-streaming service officially kicked off its launch with a New York City bash that included heavy-hitters like Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Mariah Carey, and Adam Lambert. Just as Hulu streams TV shows and movies to online users, Vevo aims to become a Web hub for music videos, new and old. So far, the site offers around 15,000 high-quality videos from 5,000-plus artists across some 20 genres and allows users to create custom playlists. The catch? You'll often have to sit through an ad before you can watch that selected video. Plus, in our tests, the site feels sluggish, at best.

It's a crucial time for the music industry, which continues to get battered as CD sales decline and illegal file-sharing remains popular. And with MTV having long since shifted its focus to pretty much everything but music videos -- that's right, 'Jersey Shore' we're talking about you -- there's clearly a need for something like Vevo. But with glitchy playback issues, the lack of Warner Music Group support, and an extremely limited archive selection (no Beatles, Pink Floyd or Pixies, just to name a few) music video hunters are better off heading to YouTube for their (ad-free) needs until the site matures. [From: Reuters, Examiner, and Vevo]

Tags: emi, hulu, mtv, sony, top, universal, vevo

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