All music fans have probably watched a music video on YouTube before. In fact, most music fans have seen hundreds or even thousands of them.
The wide availability of music, video, images and more is one of the most fascinating characteristics of the information age. As YouTube has grown exponentially since its launch in 2005, content providers have struggled to find ways to monetize the service.
In response to this challenge, Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group and Abu Dhabi Media launched VEVO in 2009. The premise is simple: by pooling together the biggest names in commercial music, and giving VEVO exclusive rights to those artists' videos, they could attract huge advertising dollars to the online music video industry.
VEVO, whose videos can be viewed both on its own site and through YouTube, uses two advertisements. The majority of its ad revenue comes from 15-30 second gatekeeper ads which a viewer must watch before proceeding to their content. These ads are typically used only for recent or very popular videos. Many consumers have reacted negatively to the ads, and a number of online forums offer quasi-legal methods to circumvent them.
The second type of ads, which are full less obstructive but no less annoying, are the standard pop-up ads. These display at the bottom of the video pane, and disappear after 15 seconds.
The VEVO ad debate goes beyond VEVO or even video content itself. At a time when technology is advanced at a faster rate than any time in human history, how will advertisers handle the trade-off between market coverage and consumer tolerance for messages? I think that ultimately, this battle will be decided in the world of smartphones. Smartphones offer companies unrivaled access to billions of eyeballs, but also bring their messages closer to consumers personal space than ever before.
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