Is Vevo in trouble? The video hosting service seemed to be doing especially well in 2014- according to Music Ally, the service had a terrific year. Of the top 250 channels of 2014, Vevo had 43 of them (which is significantly higher than the next contender, Maker Studios, who had only 29). The company's also made nearly $350 million in revenue in the year 2014. 2015's looking just as hot for Vevo, as the service has pulled in over ten billion video views in just the first month.
You'd think that would make Vevo an obvious buy for any major corporation, but nothing's happened so far. And nothing's happened for quite a while, as DreamWorks, LIberty Media and AT&T were all potentially about to buy Vevo, before backing out at the last minute. It's an odd situation.
But some are saying that Vevo's January figures- that whopping 10 billion views- might finally be enough to convince a prospective buyer to finally say yes. It's surprising that no one's bought Vevo already, but now it might finally happen. As well, Music Business Worldwide adds that of those 10b views, nearly 2b worth came from the United States alone- meaning that not only is Vivo a powerhouse in the USA, it's also pulling in a handsome 8b from the rest of the world.
However, there may be a slight snag in Vevo's dreams of being purchased. Vessel, a similar service, has been courting major deals recently and is starting to edge Vevo out of the market. Music Business Worldwide also reported that Universal Music Group just signed an exclusive deal with Vessel, allowing certain music videos to premiere exclusively on Vessel. Meaning, Vevo's going to wait a certain period (days? weeks? months?) before it can air those videos. Vessel also snapped up a similar deal with Warner Music.
It's a tough situation, but it can't be overstated how powerful Vevo is in the online video world right now. They're bound to find a buyer sooner or later.
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