Two Down Two More To Go: Sony Joins Universal On Vevo
This story was written by Rory Maher.
When Universal Music Group announced in April it was partnering with YouTube to create its own online music destination called Vevo, the first question that most asked was would other majors be invited to participate and if so would they follow? Neither Universal nor Google (NSDQ: GOOG) shed much light on the subject, but today we found out that at least one of the remaining three majors would join. Sony (NYSE: SNE) Music is joining the online video destination, CNET reports, though details on the terms of the deal were not disclosed. Following today's announcement there remains two majors who have not signed on to the service - Warner Music and EMI.
The news indicates that Vevo is not meant just to be a hub for Universal music videos, but an extensive online destination for music content from many different sources, much like hulu is for TV programming. While it is not clear if EMI or Warner will join, the addition of a second major puts pressure on them to participate or be left behind. If all the majors signed onto the service it would make growing a large audience along the lines of hulu more achievable since users could access a much wider catalog of content.
By Rory Maher