Peter Kafka

Recent Posts by Peter Kafka

Vevo, Big Music’s Hulu, Launches Dec. 8

Vevo, the music industry’s attempt to create a Hulu-like site for its music videos, will formally launch Dec. 8. The site, which is co-owned by Vivendi’s Universal Music Group, Sony’s (SNE) music label and Abu Dhabi Media, will host a New York kick-off event that day.

For those who haven’t been following along, here’s what we know about Vevo:

  • It will be powered by Google’s (GOOG) YouTube, which will share ad revenue with the joint venture.
  • It is being run by Rio Caraeff, Universal’s veteran digital guy.
  • In addition to its equity partnership, its distribution strategy is modeled after Hulu: Sony and Universal videos will appear exclusively on the site and/or YouTube, but the site plans on licensing its stream to other outlets, as Hulu does with portals like MySpace and Comcast’s (CMCSA) Fancast. One obvious place to license the stuff: Hulu itself.
  • Neither EMI nor Warner Music Group (WMG), which has created its own Vevo-like channel with YouTube, is participating in the venture, but they could.

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Just as the atom bomb was the weapon that was supposed to render war obsolete, the Internet seems like capitalism’s ultimate feat of self-destructive genius, an economic doomsday device rendering it impossible for anyone to ever make a profit off anything again. It’s especially hopeless for those whose work is easily digitized and accessed free of charge.

— Author Tim Kreider on not getting paid for one’s work