Google & Universal Sign Agreement on New Music Site – Vevo
Google took a big step forward in solving its problem with copyright music video content on YouTube this week by signing an agreement with Universal that will license all of their media archives for internet distribution via a new site called “Vevo” to be launched next year. Music Videos are some of the most popular content on YouTube, with top videos uploaded by users seeing over 20 million hits per page. However, since the users are simply recording the videos to digital off of television, and in a sense, rebroadcasting them on YouTube without permission (aka “sharing”), the music companies have been vocal in forcing Google to remove this content from individual user accounts. Now, in the new system, all proprietary content from Universal will be hosted on the Vevo site, and wherever it is embedded or shared across the web by users, the content will be monetized to produce ad revenue and royalties. This is a big victory for the music industry, and the other record labels are expected to join in similar agreements with Google for online music video distribution.
Wired said:
Google confirmed to Wired.com Thursday that all of Universal Music Group’s video assets (music videos, interviews, concert footage and possibly Kyte-style backstage video) will live on Vevo, and that YouTube — and eventually, AOL, MTV and Yahoo — will embed Universal’s videos from Vevo rather than licensing the content directly from the labels. Although terms of the deal were not disclosed, Google’s licensing worries with Universal are over…Unlike MySpace Music Vevo will not be a joint venture between Google and Universal, Google told Wired.com. The site will be wholly owned by Universal, the largest record label in the world, whose YouTube channel has more views than any other in the world (3.5 billion). Google will run all technology-related aspects of the service.
‘Universal owns the site, but Google/YouTube is providing the technology,’ said a Google spokeswoman by e-mail. ‘We will be sharing revenue with Universal on both Vevo and on YouTube. Other labels could join Vevo; they are in talks currently.’
Evolving video search technology is making it easier for Google and other sites to identify copyright content on the web and target it for suspension or removal. With announcements like the recent one from Time Warner Cable offering unlimited bandwidth at $150 a month, and wireless broadband networks growing around the world, the net is inching closer and closer to to supplanting television as the preferred means of distribution for video content. Realistically, the $150 unlimited bandwidth should be less than $15 within ten years.
Bandwidth is the main obstacle (before or after copyright) that online video has to overcome to be viable, but live broadcasting is the other. Microsoft’s Silverlight technology is definitely the powerhouse here. Even so, the most powerful websites such as YouTube or networks like CBS, NBC, etc. are said to struggle at the server level in streaming live video to more than 1-2 million simultaneous users. By contrast, TV and cable stations can scale to unlimited viewership with no additional strain on broadcast resources. This is where Cisco appears to be ahead of the game in developing new server infrastructure to facilitate online video broadcasting, but for the most part, the servers that will power video distribution are still being engineered.
Much of the hype and promise of web video has only begun to emerge recently, and there has been an increase in devices that provide integration between the internet and TV, NetFlix, Tivo, and the like. In fact, Tivo-Vevo sounds like a distribution model that the music video industry is betting on for the future (Hulu), and if they could just get those darn anti-internet piracy laws passed in every country and enforced by the ISPs, world domination would be complete again. The way traditional newspaper and TV stocks have lost value on Wall St. while Netflix and Google continue to soar and outperform is another example that the tide is seriously changing for online distribution of video.
Whether this is the best for users remains to be seen, by most accounts they were not part of the negotiations. Their vote will be whether or not to choose to use the Vevo service. Considering that copyright video will be actively targeted and pulled from accounts at YouTube, users won’t really have much choice. Yet, few will likely complain if they can still watch and embed their favorite music videos for free, even with targeted professional advertising. The bottom line for the corporates is that network distribution must support the business model and profit margins that the music industry has enjoyed since the 60′s and the web / mp3 era destroyed.
Remember Napster, Audio Galaxy Satellite, Mix-Tape, and so many other music sites in the past? It is difficult to get excited about the launch of Vevo because the music industry has been so actively involved in shutting down other popular music sites that didn’t pay them enough in royalties.
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RT @webdevnews: New blog post: Google & Universal Sign Agreement on New Music Site – Vevo http://tinyurl.com/dz7yuw