Rejoice! Universal Music Group’s video library and music content can be viewed online again. After a fight with YouTube over ad revenue (UMG felt like they were getting gypped, of course), UMG has apparently made nice with Google’s pride and joy – Warner Music had also banned YouTube from showing their content for the same reason.
The ad money, at the core of the issue, will now be split in half. According to Billboard.biz, “advertisers pay an average of only $3-$8 for every thousand views that their ads receive. While that has resulted in “tens of millions” in revenue, UMG and other labels would like an ad rate on par with the CPMs that TV and movies command online—upwards of $25-$40”.
The result of this will be Vevo, an internet one stop for all things UMG, including interviews, concert footage and music videos, or in other words, a service “designed as a central repository for all UMG video content.” Vevo will launch at the end of the year, with plans in works to incorporate the content from other major and independent labels in the months ahead. So basically, UMG will look to create a video service that both works and competes against YouTube. How that makes sense is beyond me, but hey, if it means we can post All-American Rejects videos without the risk of deletion, we’re game.
