While Vevo’s partnerships with major record labels have allowed it to become a go-to destination for consumers who want to stream music videos on the Internet, it is also a champion of smaller, up-and-coming musicians. The multi-channel network’s latest effort to promote unheralded artists comes in the form of a print that, per Variety, will be available at stores and venues.
Vevo’s magazine features a list of 20 artists who have been dubbed as “The Ones To Watch.” By highlighting its score of aspirants, Vevo is continuing its work on the fringes of the music industry. Previously, it used its dscvr program to boost young performers, including Kendrick Lamar (before he was famous, of course). “Let’s celebrate the superstars, but let’s make sure that we are fostering the new,” Vevo SVP of content and programming Tom Connaughton told Variety.
Vevo’s magazine is a fun print integration for its primarily-digital brand, but it is also a mechanism through which the network can raise its own profile — not just those of the musicians it is featuring. Vevo wants to drum up hype for its own name as it prepares to launch a subscription-video service, through which it hopes to draw viewers onto its own platform (as opposed to those of distribution partners like YouTube). To attract those viewers, Vevo will need a lot of brand recognition; a print magazine, should it reach enough music lovers, will be a step in the right direction.
