YouTube Renews Vevo Contract and Invests $50M to Keep it Away From Facebook

vevo

YouTube has just renewed its agreement with the music video hosting service Vevo and is also making an estimated $50 investment in the firm.

This investment gives Google, who owns YouTube, a 10% stake in Vevo too which is evaluated to be worth about $500 million now. According to comScore, Vevo’s library attracted 50.2 million unique visitors to YouTube in May 2013 making it the 4th largest video property in the US. Vevo also holds the rights to lots of music videos featuring major music artists and is already YouTube’s top channel partner, making the deal here a logical move. Google was compelled to act though as Vevo’s lucrative contract to keep its content strictly on YouTube ended in April, and the music service threatened making a deal with Facebook instead.

The new $50 million investment from Google now prevents Vevo from courting any other partners. This is part of a continued effort by Google to bring in fresh video content to YouTube, including its $200 million investment premium channel partners and a $35 million round of funding for video game media company Machinima. Vevo is owned in part by Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Abu Dhabi Media Group. Vevo plans to use the funds to further expand its international presence and create more original music content.
 

Daniel Zeevi

By Daniel Zeevi

Daniel is a social network architect, web developer, infographic designer, writer, speaker and founder of DashBurst. Full-time futurist and part-time content curator, always on the hunt for disruptive new technology, creative art and web humor.

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