Is VEVO A Hit?
COMMENTARY: Despite a very rocky start technically, VEVO is pulling some impressive numbers. In December, VEVO had 35 million visitors to its own site, and 13 billion video views across all channels its sites with 90% of it coming via YouTube.
If so much of VEVO's traffic comes from YouTube, what purpose does it serve? For the labels its aboutt command and control and generating more revenue. For the fan? VEVO offers a platform to watch and playlist higher quality music videos uncluttered by fan generated content of very uneven quality.
There is an unquestionable glut of content on YouTube and across the user-generated web, and thus a need for filters. But VEVO is not a filter driven by taste or quality, but rather by the agendas of large music corporations.
In the long run, will fans be willing to trade a higher quality experience for the freedom of broader content? And while technical differences can be narrowed, personal taste is not something easy to replicate.
:: 35m visitors is a DISASTER when a podcast – for example Trance Around The Word – has 21m visitors each week – see discussion here: http://bit.ly/6aQqT1
Im amazed how many visitors they are getting, I had no idea they were receiving mainstream traction. Id only hear of vevo through digital music news sites.
I reckon that most people who visit VEVO are simply looking for music from their favorite artists (via YouTube). I highly doubt that the site is a destination portal (like Hulu).
However, VEVO is a success only because the music labels now have a stake in the 30 million or so views that would have otherwise went to YouTube and Google.