Peter Kafka

Recent Posts by Peter Kafka

Vevo’s “Hulu for Music” Gets a Prelaunch Boost: EMI Adds Its Clips (But Not Equity) to the Mix

Vevo, the “Hulu for music videos” site that launches tomorrow, just got a bit bigger: In addition to clips from owners Sony (SNE) and Universal Music Group, the site will offer EMI Music Group’s videos.

The press release I’ve reprinted below doesn’t spell this out, but I’m told that EMI is only licensing its videos to the venture and isn’t joining as an equity partner; it will get an advance against revenue upfront.

The deal means Warner Music Group (WMG) will be the only one of the four major labels that isn’t working with the video site. But Warner has struck its own deal with Google’s (GOOG) YouTube, which is powering Vevo.

Here’s a crazee promotional video the site has produced, featuring 50 Cent busting up some TVs. Actually, that’s all it is.

VEVO ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT WITH EMI MUSIC

New Premium Music Service to Launch on December 8
with Content from Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Music

New York, New York, Monday, December 7, 2009 — VEVO, the new premium music video and entertainment service, today announced an agreement in which EMI Music will join Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment in providing music fans with professionally-created video content when the service debuts on December 8 in the United States and Canada.

As part of this agreement, music fans will be able to view professionally-created video content from artists on EMI’s labels including Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capitol and Virgin, as well as the independent artists and labels represented by EMI Label Services and EMI’s Caroline Distribution unit.

Across the VEVO Network, users will now enjoy the largest selection of premium music content featuring the broadest array of chart-topping artists found anywhere on the Web. VEVO builds upon the success of YouTube, where Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Music stream many hundreds of millions of professionally-created videos per month. In addition, VEVO recently announced a content deal with CBS Interactive Music Group.

“Our agreement with EMI Music marks a milestone in our mission to provide fans everywhere with the world’s best premium music video programming, when, where and how they want it,” stated Rio Caraeff, President & CEO of VEVO.  “We look forward to collaborating with EMI on introducing our users to new professionally-created entertainment products through a truly interactive platform. VEVO is about much more than just high-quality videos; it is also about original programming and strengthening the connection between artists and fans through a dynamic and engaging experience; and immediately providing advertisers with the scalability they desire and access to the most sought after demographic on the Web.”

“VEVO offers the value of a powerful, new environment where our artists can showcase their work and create a deeper relationship with fans,” said Elio Leoni-Sceti, EMI Music CEO.  “It’s an exciting entertainment destination for consumers, a tremendous creative medium for artists and also a great platform for brands.”

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There’s a lot of attention and PR around Marissa, but their product lineup just kind of blows.

— Om Malik on Bloomberg TV, talking about Yahoo, the September issue of Vogue Magazine, and our overdependence on Google