Sony Music is the second major label to join the yet-to-be-launched Vevo music-video site, the brainchild of YouTube and Universal Music.
Following the US$1bn Viacom lawsuit in 2007 for copyright infringement, and the move by the Warner label to pull all of its content from the site following a breakdown in contract negotiations, Google-owned YouTube, in partnership with Universal, created a separate site dedicated to music videos.
Now, with Sony’s back catalogue added to the mix, Vevo will essentially be the Hulu of music videos, and rather than streaming TV shows and movies, it will be dedicated to recording artists.
Artists to feature on Hulu will include Lady GaGa, the Black Eyed Peas and Taylor Smith from Universal, and Britney Spears, Gossip and Il Divo from Sony.
While neither Warner nor EMI have signed up to provide content to the new site, according to Cnet, industry insiders say there are continuing talks between the companies.
This new Vevo partnership, while hosted by YouTube, will most likely not be in the same format (featuring varying video quality), but will likely host exclusive, high-resolution video and extra content from the two labels.
By Marie Boran
