On December 8, 2009, a new site was launched on the web.  Named Vevo, the site aims to be the MTV of the Web.  The musical video site is backed by Universal, Sony and EMI and was created by YouTube.

According to Doug Morris, the chairman and chief executive of Universal Music, “Vevo is a chance, perhaps the chance to please stop playing defense,  Vevo is a huge platform, and you know what’s best of all?  It’s our platform.”

Plans for Vevo were first announced in April. YouTube described Vevo as a “premium online music video hub” that will be powered by YouTube’s video technology. Users can access the content via Vevo.com or through a new Vevo YouTube channel, which will include a Vevo-branded embedded player.

Rio Caraeff is the chief executive of Vevo.  He said in an interview that, “It will be a higher-quality experience around music and videos than anything else that’s currently out there.”  He also said that the site would host 30,000 music videos by the end of the year.  Vevo will carry original programs by artist for their fans.  It will also contain programming from CBS radio stations.

The idea is to create an MTV for the digital age.  They want a music site where all the latest and archived videos can be found.

This is a difficult time for music companies as they are losing revenue and profits due to the combined impact of falling sales and online piracy.   Vevo presents a new method for fans to discover new music.

How does Clay Aiken fit into this?  Well, I am really looking forward to seeing professional videos of Clay singing new songs from his first CD from Decca.