YouTube and Universal: Livin’ La Vida Vevo

By Geoff Duncan April 10, 2009

YouTube and Universal: Livin

After rumors emerged last month, Universal Music Group and Google subsidiary YouTube have made it official: the two companies are working together to launch a new premium music video Web site dubbed Vevo. Vevo will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Universal, and will be supported through advertising revenue that will be split between the two companies. The hope is that by building a premium site, top music and entertainment brands will be more comfortable distributing material through Vevo than they are in the Wild-West environment of YouTube…and, of course, that Vevo will be able to charge premium ad rates for the site.

“Vevo will bring the most compelling premium music video content and services to the world’s single largest online video audience,” said Universal Music CEO and chairman Doug Morris, in a statement. “We believe that at launch, Vevo will already have more traffic than any other music video site in the United States and in the world. And this traffic represents the most sought after demographic for advertisers, especially as advertising dollars continue their shift from old media to new.”

When launched, Vevo will sport UMG’s complete catalog of premium music videos, including professional full-length videos, artist-generated content,, and user-generated content from YouTube. Vevo will sport a branded embeddable player, and Vevo-branded content will be available on both Vevo.com and a Vevo YouTube channel. YouTube will supply the infrastructure to get Vevo up and running.

The Vevo partnership could be significant for YouTube, which has faced difficulty retaining professional music video content on the service: talks with Warner Music Group broke down last year, and YouTube is blocking all music videos in the UK and Germany over royalty disputes. Although YouTube has more than 100 million users in the United States alone, music labels have been increasingly frustrated that all those viewers have not translated into more-significant advertising revenue for their content available on the service. Vevo is an attempt to pull in both big-name advertisers and top-drawer professional content, and hopefully generate more revenue for everybody involved.

Editors' Recommendations

How to watch YouTube on a Google Nest Hub Smart Display

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Smart Home

Are robotic pool cleaners worth it?

The Airper Seagull SE robotic pool cleaner at the bottom of a swimming pool.

The worst part of owning a swimming pool is taking care of it From filter maintenance and skimming debris from the surface to managing chemicals and more, you'll likely find yourself hanging out around the water more often than you're actually in the water. Robotic pool cleaners are designed to alleviate this pinch point of pool ownership by giving you back your time and automating most of your tasks.

But are robotic pool cleaners worth it, or are they a gimmick that still require heaps of manual input? Here's a closer look to help you decide if one would be a good addition to your backyard.
Budget-friendly devices are often a hassle

Smart Home

Best Buy cut this air fryer’s price in half, down to just $25

The Bella Pro Series 3 Quart Air Fryer near food.

If you want your food crispy all over without having to deal with draining a ton of oil, your best bet is to use an air fryer. They're never too expensive and there are always great air fryer deals going on, but you'll rarely find one with a price like this. Right now, the Bella Pro Series 3 Quart Analog Air Fryer is half off, moving its price from $50 to $25. To pick yours up today all you need to do is tap the button below. If you're interested in our take, however, be sure to keep reading.

Why you should buy the Bella Pro Series 3 Quart Air Fryer
The Bella Pro Series 3 Quart Air Fryer holds up to about 2.5 pounds of food, heats up to 400 degrees, and has easily-removable dishwasher-safe parts. If you notice it is "analog" that is because it has a 60 minute shut off timer to give you peace of mind and an easy way to time your cooking. Of course, this means there aren't a ton of digital options, buttons, and settings. However, this can be a plus for some and possibly you. Not every item in the home needs to be "smart" and less can certainly feel like more.

Smart Home

Revolution Cooking’s high-speed smart toaster is $100 off today

Someone using the Revolution Cooking InstaGLO R180 smart toaster in the kitchen.

If you're thinking about getting a new toaster for your kitchen, why not go with a high-speed smart toaster? Best Buy is currently selling the Revolution Cooking InstaGLO R180 smart toaster with a $100 discount, slashing its price to $250 from $350 originally. There's no telling how much time is remaining before this offer expires though, so if you're interested, it's highly recommended that you proceed with the purchase right now in order to secure the savings.

Why you should buy the Revolution Cooking InstaGLO R180 smart toaster
Are smart kitchen gadgets worth it? The answer is a resounding yes, and the Revolution Cooking InstaGLO R180 smart toaster will show you why. With this kitchen device, you'll no longer suffer from burnt or uneven toasts as it's powered by the brand's InstaGLO heating system. The technology will start toasting your bread in just two seconds without any need for preheating. You'll get bread that's crunchy outside and moist inside every single time, which is a huge upgrade over the inconsistencies of traditional toasters.